Frédéric Vasseur has revealed Ferrari’s development plan for the opening races of the 2026 Formula 1 season, while also sharing an interesting behind-the-scenes detail about Mercedes’ work during pre-season testing. The team principal of the Scuderia from Maranello explained how aggressive Ferrari intends to be with upgrades in the early stages of the championship and commented on what the team observed from their main rivals during the Bahrain tests.
The Prancing Horse believes it can close the performance gap to Mercedes and has already started developing the SF-26 in a very aggressive manner. In China, for example, Ferrari is expected to introduce the so-called Macarena wing, with three different specifications of version 1 already prepared. Fred Vasseur is therefore pushing the team to evolve the car quickly, accelerating the development pace in order to respond to Mercedes’ early advantage.
The team principal had also previously announced a significant chassis upgrade, although it is very unlikely that this will debut in Shanghai. Instead, the update is more likely to arrive at the Japanese Grand Prix. Ferrari was already aware that it would start the season with a disadvantage compared to Mercedes, and during pre-season testing the engineers in Maranello had already noticed some interesting “strategies” from the German team. Here are Fred Vasseur’s words to the microphones of AutoHebdo.
Vasseur: “We will have something for Japan, then…”
“Yes, because I think we arrived here knowing that we had a deficit to close. So I’m quite satisfied with this. And then we also managed to react well in the race after the difficult qualifying session. From the Bahrain tests, we had already noticed that there were some laps where they were really pushing. They never did it with new tires, but we could see there was potential. If I was disappointed, it was mainly because in many aspects we were not at the level we expected. There was frustration because I really felt there was room to do better than fourth and seventh. That’s why I was disappointed. Not because we could catch Russell, but because there was something else we could have gained. In the race, it was better overall. So I’m rather happy with Sunday.”
No one expected that eight-tenths gap. However, the difference was also partly the result of less-than-perfect optimization by Ferrari and some issues with the battery system. The Melbourne circuit also proved to be less suited to the characteristics of the SF-26.
Fred Vasseur believes the real gap to Mercedes is closer to half a second, and the picture improved significantly during the race. Mercedes appears to be extremely strong when it comes to tire management, but Ferrari remains excellent from both a chassis and aerodynamic perspective.
Regarding future upgrades, the question remains whether there will be more developments beyond the Macarena wing. The French team principal answered clearly: “There will be nothing in China. We will have something for Japan, then quite a lot for Bahrain, or in any case for the fourth race. But we still don’t know exactly what it will be! [because of the ongoing conflict, ed.]”
This aggressive development push highlights Ferrari’s commitment to not letting Mercedes run away with the 2026 title. By focusing on rapid-fire aerodynamic updates and a major chassis overhaul scheduled for Suzuka, Maranello is betting on out-developing their rivals through the spring. As the calendar remains uncertain due to regional tensions, the ability to bring “heavy” updates to whatever venue hosts the fourth round could be the turning point Ferrari needs to transform from a podium contender into a consistent race winner.
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