Ferrari enters the new regulatory era with a clear objective: to rack up kilometers. Fred Vasseur states this plainly on the eve of the “closed-door” Barcelona tests, where reliability — more than outright performance — will be the true priority as the team faces a 2026 full of unknowns.
Vasseur: “First the kilometers, then the performance”
In addition to the six days of pre-season testing in Bahrain, teams will have a further private session in Barcelona at the end of January. For Ferrari, coming off its first winless season since 2021 yet still finishing third in the championship, the mantra remains the same: “to finish first, you first have to reach the finish line.”
Apart from the double disqualification in China, the Scuderia only missed the checkered flag at Zandvoort and in Brazil, both cases involving incidents with both drivers. Despite this, the SF-25 showed no particular reliability issues, but Fred Vasseur wants to preempt any risk in a year where all teams are venturing into the unknown.
“I think everyone will do the same,” says the team principal. “In this situation, the most important thing is accumulating kilometers. It’s not about chasing performance, but about racking up distance to validate the technical choices on the car in terms of reliability. And then, of course, achieving performance.”
During last year’s Bahrain tests, Ferrari ranked sixth in terms of mileage (2,064 km), behind Mercedes (2,480 km) and ahead of McLaren (2,061 km), while Red Bull was only tenth (1,642 km).
2026 is just around the corner…
The new car will be unveiled on January 23, followed by a shakedown at Fiorano. But Fred Vasseur warns: what is shown will not be the final version.
“I think everyone will arrive in Barcelona not with a mule car, but let’s say with a spec A,” he explains.
The Frenchman also emphasizes the importance of the total nine days of testing, a luxury compared to recent seasons:
“In the last four or five seasons, we only had three. It’s an advantage, but it’s also a completely different program. It means that the first objective in this kind of season is to achieve reliability.”
Looking back, Fred Vasseur recalls 2014: “In the early races, there was a high percentage of retirements… The first goal in Barcelona will be to accumulate mileage with the car, understand its reliability, see where we need to improve, and how we need to react.”
The schedule is tight: the car will only be fully assembled on January 22.
“Definitely aggressive, because we will finish assembling the car the day before the launch… It’s an aggressive program, but everyone will do the same.”
As is now customary, the various launch events will mainly showcase the liveries, which will still evolve during the season.
Ferrari is preparing for a crucial 2026 season by focusing on solidity before speed. Fred Vasseur wants a team ready to react, capable of making the most of every available kilometer to build a reliable foundation from which to extract performance. In a year of significant changes, consistency could be the most valuable weapon.
Leave a Reply