Ferrari’s first day at the 2026 Italian Grand Prix delivered encouraging signs from both its low-downforce package and, above all, the updated ADUO-2 power unit, which appears to have reduced part of the gap to Mercedes. Frédéric Vasseur believes the Scuderia has made substantial progress from the six-to-seven-tenth deficit seen at the beginning of the season, although Mercedes still appears to hold the favourite status at Monza.
The Ferrari team principal nevertheless expects qualifying to present a particularly difficult challenge. George Russell and Max Verstappen could benefit significantly from slipstreaming behind their respective team-mates, while Ferrari has no intention of sacrificing either Lewis Hamilton or Charles Leclerc purely to create a tow. Frédéric Vasseur therefore believes Sunday’s race could offer the Maranello team a better opportunity than the battle for pole position.
Ferrari closes Mercedes gap but straight-line weakness remains at Monza
Ferrari arrived at Monza with an aerodynamic configuration designed specifically for the circuit’s extremely low-downforce demands, alongside the latest evolution of its power unit. The ADUO-2 turbo and power unit development has become one of the major technical themes of the Italian Grand Prix weekend as the Scuderia attempts to improve efficiency and reduce its deficit to Mercedes.
“Overall, it was a good day, but it’s always difficult at Monza because you can play quite a lot with engine mappings or fuel, and that makes a huge difference. But we are focused on the car and the set-up for tomorrow, and it has gone pretty well so far,” Frédéric Vasseur said when assessing Ferrari’s opening day on track.
Friday practice at Monza is particularly difficult to interpret because different fuel loads and power unit modes can significantly distort the competitive picture. Nevertheless, Ferrari’s progress appeared encouraging, with the SF-26 showing signs that the updated package had moved the team closer to the benchmark.
The challenge is that Monza was never expected to be the most favourable circuit for the SF-26. Ferrari continues to give away performance on the straights, making the Temple of Speed an especially demanding test of the latest Ferrari SF-26 power unit specification.
“We know it won’t be the easiest race of the season for us, for sure, because we still have a deficit on the straights and Monza is certainly not the ideal circuit for that. But we will fight as we did at Silverstone. We had a gap there too, but we did a good job. We’ll see tomorrow,” Frédéric Vasseur explained.
That is also why the Ferrari team principal does not want conclusions from one weekend to be applied too quickly to the wider championship. Circuit characteristics still play an important role in determining the relative strengths of the leading cars, and the SF-26’s performance can vary according to the demands of each layout.
Frédéric Vasseur warns Monza tow could be worth four tenths
One of the biggest complications ahead of qualifying is slipstreaming. A tow has always been particularly valuable at Monza because of the circuit’s long straights and low-drag configurations, but Frédéric Vasseur believes the potential gain could become decisive in the battle at the front.
“For qualifying, I think George Russell and Max Verstappen will have the tow from their team-mates, which gives you four tenths, so it will be difficult for us to fight George Russell and Max Verstappen if they get all four tenths from the tow,” the Ferrari team principal warned.
The possibility adds another strategic dimension to a qualifying session in which relatively small performance differences could be magnified by track positioning. Ferrari’s own Friday data has already highlighted the contrasting ways the leading teams are extracting performance, particularly through Ferrari and Mercedes’ different energy-deployment approaches at Monza.
Max Verstappen is another potential factor in that fight, with the Red Bull driver expected by Frédéric Vasseur to have the possibility of receiving a tow from his team-mate. The latest developments surrounding Max Verstappen therefore add another dimension to a qualifying battle that Ferrari expects to be difficult.
Ferrari will not sacrifice Lewis Hamilton or Charles Leclerc for a tow
Ferrari has no intention of structuring qualifying around sacrificing one SF-26 exclusively to assist the other. Both drivers remain focused on their own chances of fighting near the front, and Frédéric Vasseur believes compromising one car on Saturday could come at too high a price for Sunday.
“We have two drivers who want to fight for the win and the podium on Sunday, and that means we won’t sacrifice anyone,” Frédéric Vasseur confirmed.
There is still an established Ferrari procedure governing which driver has priority over the order in which the cars leave the garage during qualifying. Each weekend, one driver has the right to choose who goes out first. At Monza, that preference belongs to Lewis Hamilton.
“This weekend Lewis Hamilton has the preference. Lewis Hamilton decides who leaves the garage first, and it will be Charles Leclerc. This means Lewis Hamilton can be behind, but it doesn’t mean Charles Leclerc has to give his team-mate a tow, because in this situation he can also pull away and leave his team-mate there. In our case, that’s how it will be,” Frédéric Vasseur explained.
The distinction is important. Lewis Hamilton choosing to run behind Charles Leclerc does not automatically make the Monegasque driver responsible for deliberately positioning his car to provide a slipstream. Ferrari wants both cars to complete their own qualifying programmes rather than turning one into a support vehicle for the other.
That approach is consistent with a Monza weekend in which Ferrari has been working to maximise the performance of both SF-26 cars following extensive preparation around its engine, floor and aerodynamic upgrades for the Italian Grand Prix.
Frédéric Vasseur sees a different opportunity in Sunday’s race
While Frédéric Vasseur remains cautious about Ferrari’s chances in qualifying, his outlook changes when attention moves to Sunday. The Scuderia expects to have both cars available to fight in the race, which could become strategically important compared with a rival affected by a penalty.
“But the race is on Sunday and we will have the advantage of having two cars in the race, while our rival will have one with the penalty, so we’ll see,” the Ferrari team principal said.
The comments underline why Ferrari is unwilling to compromise one driver simply to maximise the other’s qualifying position. Starting as high as possible remains important at Monza, but having two competitive cars available for the Grand Prix could create more strategic possibilities over the full race distance.
Ferrari has reduced the Mercedes gap since Melbourne
Looking beyond Monza, Frédéric Vasseur also assessed the wider progress Ferrari has made since the opening stages of the 2026 season. The Scuderia has worked on the power unit, chassis and aerodynamics, with each area contributing incremental gains rather than one single transformation.
“I’m still convinced there is a gap to Mercedes, even though we are improving the car, because if we compare the first races in Australia and China, we were six or seven tenths behind Mercedes there,” Frédéric Vasseur said.
The latest engine evolution has provided another contribution to that recovery. Ferrari’s development work has focused not only on outright power but also on efficiency, an important distinction at Monza where energy management and straight-line performance have a particularly large influence on lap time.
“We have made some small steps forward with the engine, but they are steps that are still important, and now we have also made some small steps with the chassis,” the Ferrari team principal explained.
Ferrari has simultaneously adapted the SF-26 aerodynamically for Monza, including changes aimed at limiting drag and improving efficiency through the circuit’s long full-throttle sections. That work includes the modified SF-26 FTM configuration developed for Monza.
According to Frédéric Vasseur, the combined effect of those incremental developments has left the competitive situation considerably closer than it was at the beginning of 2026.
“Now we are with them, more or less, and then it depends on the track layout. I repeat, Monza is not the easiest for us, but we’ll see if we have made a good step forward,” he added.
Ferrari execution remains a key focus for Frédéric Vasseur
Technical development is only one part of Ferrari’s challenge. Frédéric Vasseur continues to place significant emphasis on execution, acknowledging that the team has failed to maximise some opportunities during the season even if its rivals have made mistakes of their own.
“It’s true that we have wasted some points and some opportunities since the start of the season, but it’s also true that we have wasted fewer than McLaren and Mercedes. However, we have wasted more than we did ourselves last year,” Frédéric Vasseur admitted.
The Ferrari team principal also pointed to the scale of the changes introduced this season. New cars, new power units, new tyres and numerous other developments have created a demanding environment for every team.
“It is a very big challenge for everyone,” he added.
That does not mean Frédéric Vasseur intends to judge Ferrari’s performance relative to the mistakes of its competitors. His priority remains improving the standard inside Maranello.
“I’m not interested in the others. I focus on myself and my team, so we need to do a better job on execution than our rivals,” he explained.
That demand applies throughout the organisation rather than only to the personnel travelling to the circuit.
“My job is to push everyone, including those back at the factory, to try to get the best out of everybody,” Frédéric Vasseur said.
Why the Italian Grand Prix will not define Ferrari’s season
Monza inevitably carries additional significance for Ferrari, but Frédéric Vasseur does not believe one result at the Italian Grand Prix will determine the direction of the championship. With a substantial number of points still available across the remainder of the 2026 Formula 1 calendar, he believes there will be many more opportunities for the competitive picture to change.
“Of course I would prefer to win, that’s obvious, but I don’t think it will be crucial one way or the other. There are still around 500 points to score between now and the end, which means there is still time to act, to win races or even to make mistakes — hopefully not,” Frédéric Vasseur said.
The message is consistent with his broader approach: Monza matters enormously to Ferrari emotionally, but the team cannot allow the significance of its home race to distort the way it evaluates performance or approaches the rest of the campaign.
Frédéric Vasseur recalls the extraordinary support of the Tifosi
Monza nevertheless occupies a special place in Frédéric Vasseur’s memories. Victories and pole positions have produced emotions that he considers extremely difficult to match elsewhere in his professional career.
“When you win, when we have taken pole, everyone is excited and the feeling is wonderful. It was probably the best feeling of my entire professional life,” the Ferrari team principal said.
Yet one of his most significant memories does not come from a victory. Frédéric Vasseur recalled the response of the Ferrari supporters during a difficult period the previous season, when the Tifosi remained behind the team long after the Grand Prix had finished.
“When you win, you expect all that support, but when you don’t win it is something exceptional. Last year, while we were struggling, two hours after the race the fans were still outside the garage, pushing the team and cheering for us,” he recalled.
That intensity is inseparable from life at Ferrari. Victory can generate extraordinary enthusiasm, while defeat inevitably brings significant disappointment. For the team principal, the challenge is to create enough stability inside the organisation to ensure that neither extreme changes the quality of the work being carried out.
“It is my job, and the job of the whole team, to try to moderate the highs and lows, trying to get the best out of everyone, and that means we need more stability,” Frédéric Vasseur explained.
Ferrari pressure demands stability from the entire team
Frédéric Vasseur knew the intensity that would come with leading Ferrari when he accepted the role at Maranello, and he has no regrets about taking on that responsibility.
“I knew when I joined Ferrari that it would be like this and, honestly, I enjoy every day,” he said.
In that context, continuity is not merely an emotional advantage. It also becomes an important operational resource, allowing the organisation to work consistently whether the previous race produced success or disappointment.
“We need stability to do the same job all the time, both when there is success and in difficult moments, because we need to get the best out of the people — the 2,000 people, or slightly fewer, that we have,” Frédéric Vasseur explained.
The extremes surrounding Ferrari are ultimately part of what makes the team and Formula 1 so intense. Performances can quickly change perceptions, especially when expectations are as high as they are at Maranello.
“At times you have a good session and you are treated like the greatest person in the world, and then the opposite happens. That also comes from the fact that we love Formula 1 because of the extremes, and we all love what we do and the passion we have for this sport,” Frédéric Vasseur concluded.
For Ferrari, the immediate focus remains Monza. The updated ADUO-2 power unit and low-downforce package have produced encouraging indications, and the gap to Mercedes is considerably smaller than the six or seven tenths Frédéric Vasseur recalls from the opening races. But the straight-line deficit remains, the slipstream battle could complicate qualifying, and the Scuderia still needs to execute the weekend cleanly if it wants to convert its progress into a major result at home.
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