Fred Vasseur has identified energy management as one of Ferrari’s main concerns after the team finished almost eight tenths behind Mercedes in Belgian Grand Prix FP2. Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s dramatic improvement between Friday’s two sessions left Ferrari chasing the benchmark at Spa-Francorchamps, although the team principal warned that different fuel levels made direct comparisons unreliable.
The gap between the fastest Mercedes and the leading Ferrari was concerning over a single lap. It was also a major change from FP1, when Mercedes had struggled and Ferrari placed second and third behind Max Verstappen’s Red Bull.
Mercedes transforms its pace as Ferrari falls behind
Andrea Kimi Antonelli made an impressive step after Mercedes refined the setup of his W17 between the two sessions. The Italian driver went from a difficult opening practice to the top of the Belgian Grand Prix FP2 classification, leaving Lewis Hamilton’s leading Ferrari almost eight tenths behind.
The turnaround demonstrated how effectively Mercedes solved Spa’s setup compromise. Ferrari, meanwhile, was unable to make comparable progress and must now find more performance before qualifying.
The Belgian circuit’s long straights place exceptional demands on the new-generation hybrid power units. Teams must carefully determine where to deploy electrical energy, where to recover it and how much power to retain for defending or attacking another car. The FIA has also introduced specific energy-management measures for the 2026 Belgian GP.
Fred Vasseur explains why Ferrari cannot compare fuel-corrected pace
Speaking to F1TV after FP2, Fred Vasseur acknowledged that Ferrari’s afternoon had been more difficult. However, the Frenchman stressed that Friday results can be distorted by the different fuel loads used by each team.
“This morning went reasonably well. This afternoon was a little more difficult, but everything is relative,” Fred Vasseur explained. “We know that fuel is crucial in terms of competitiveness. It means we cannot compare ourselves with the others. It also happened at the last two events. Let us focus on ourselves. Let us try to get the most out of what we have, and we will see tomorrow afternoon.”
Fred Vasseur did not specify Ferrari’s fuel load or disclose how its programme compared with Mercedes. His remarks therefore did not confirm that the SF-26 was carrying more fuel, only that the unknown variables made the headline gap difficult to assess accurately.
Ferrari has “a lot to do” on energy management
Energy deployment nevertheless remains a genuine area of concern for Ferrari. The team’s straight-line performance varied considerably around the lap, reinforcing the findings of the technical analysis of Ferrari’s hybrid deficit in FP2.
“There is a lot to do on energy management because today we saw that there was a huge difference in speed between the cars from one straight to another,” Fred Vasseur added. “It means that, after simulations and more simulations, we are now in reality.”
“We must also think about the race and how we are going to attack and defend. We will see how it goes tomorrow.”
The reference to attacking and defending is especially important at Spa. A driver who spends too much electrical energy early in the lap may have less available on a later straight, affecting both outright lap time and the ability to complete or resist an overtake.
Fred Vasseur refuses to draw conclusions from Friday’s gaps
Despite the significant deficit to Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Fred Vasseur refused to become discouraged by the Friday classification. Ferrari has experienced several recent weekends in which the opening practice order did not accurately predict qualifying or race performance.
“The outlook for the weekend? It is too early,” the Ferrari team principal concluded. “If we look at the last four or five rounds, the Friday classification was not very representative. It means we have a lot of work to do.”
Ferrari’s engineers must now combine the practice data with the findings from the SF-26’s technical package at Spa. The immediate priorities will be refining the setup, improving energy deployment and ensuring Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc can use the available power more consistently across Spa’s long straights.
The true scale of Mercedes’ advantage should become clearer during qualifying. For Ferrari, the challenge is to turn Friday evening’s analysis into a meaningful step before the competitive sessions begin.
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