Fréd Vasseur has revealed when the assembly of Ferrari’s 2026 Formula 1 car will be completed, while also explaining the development approach chosen by the Maranello team for the new season. Here is the plan laid out by the Scuderia as it prepares for the dawn of the next regulatory era.
The Team Principal of the Maranello-based squad wanted to clarify exactly when the assembly of the Ferrari 2026 challenger will be finalized, while also offering insight into the philosophy Ferrari has adopted heading into the new season.
The Prancing Horse will officially unveil its new car on January 23, followed by a shakedown session featuring Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton. The project, internally known as the 678, will introduce several technical innovations and will represent the first Ferrari fully developed under the technical leadership of Loic Serra, whom Fred Vasseur strongly defended during the traditional Christmas lunch with the media. With the 2026 season now just around the corner, attention is already shifting toward a major controversy surrounding an alleged “trick” discovered by Mercedes and Red Bull. However, focusing on Ferrari’s own approach, it is now possible to understand when the car’s assembly will be completed and how the team intends to manage development.
Vasseur: “Delaying projects to arrive in Barcelona or Bahrain…”
The question, reported by Motorsport.com, aimed to understand what kind of approach Ferrari is adopting for 2026: “Looking ahead to next year, the development of the new car and the new regulations, how would you describe Ferrari’s approach? Will you take risks because everything has to be tried, or will there be a more conservative line?”
The Team Principal provided a detailed answer, even revealing the final deadline for the complete assembly of the car:
“Nobody starts out being conservative or aggressive. Very often, you make your assessment when you discover what the others have done, and then you say, ‘Oh, I was really aggressive,’ or on the contrary, you realize you were conservative. But honestly, today we have no idea what our competitors have done. We will only have the full picture in Bahrain.
What is truly aggressive is delaying the projects until the last possible moment in order to arrive in Barcelona or Bahrain with the car that will actually go on track. On the other hand, if a team decides to stop development a month earlier, then we can say that this is a conservative approach.
I believe that this year, in any case, all teams will be forced to be aggressive in several areas. As far as we are concerned, we will complete the assembly of the car the day before the presentation, which is January 22.”
Ferrari has no choice but to take risks, because this represents the final realistic opportunity to launch a winning cycle under the new regulations. If the project fails to deliver, the Scuderia could find itself effectively out of the championship picture until around 2030.
Fred Vasseur is fully aware that the 2026 season will also be decisive for his own future, especially after personally selecting the key figures responsible for the project. Charles Leclerc, after the first six or seven races of the season, will have a clear understanding of whether continuing his career with the Maranello team is the right path, or whether it may be time to start looking toward new horizons in the United Kingdom.
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