The 2026 Formula 1 season has seen the competitive landscape tighten dramatically, with Ferrari finding itself in a relentless battle to maximize every opportunity. Team principal Fred Vasseur has called for heightened focus on race weekend execution as the margins between the frontrunners continue to shrink.
Ferrari’s SF-26 has proven to be a competitive package, with continuous upgrades allowing both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc to secure victories. However, recent races in Budapest and Zandvoort have highlighted areas where the team has left points on the table despite having the potential for podium finishes.
Missed opportunities in recent races
In Budapest Ferrari showcased strong pace in practice on a twisty circuit that should have played to its strengths. Hamilton narrowly missed out on pole position, but a poor start, followed by a speeding penalty and sluggish pit stops, resulted in neither driver finishing in the top three.
At the Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort, Ferrari felt it left performance on the table during qualifying when it fell out of the ideal operating window with its tires. Further wasted opportunities in the race prevented the team from clinching a podium on a circuit that should have favored its strengths and disguised its power unit weaknesses.
Vasseur’s call for improvement
Speaking to Vasseur acknowledged the team’s progress but emphasized the need for flawless execution to catch up with Mercedes and keep a resurgent McLaren at bay. “Honestly, I think we made a huge step in terms of execution over the last two or three years. In terms of strategy, pit stops, we are doing well,” Vasseur said. “We missed opportunities mainly over the last two weekends, but I’m not sure that we missed more opportunities than McLaren or Mercedes from the beginning of the season.
“But if you want to be the champion, you can’t leave points on the table. We have to score the maximum number of points that we can,” he added. Ferrari has rolled out numerous car upgrades in recent weeks, with more aerodynamic parts and an upgraded engine expected for the upcoming home race in Monza.
The importance of race weekend operations
As the grid continues to converge in outright performance, Vasseur believes tidying up race weekend operations is becoming increasingly important. “You have two races. You have the development race; race after race, you are bringing parts to improve the potential. But then you have also to be at the limit of your potential,” he pointed out. “Sometimes you are doing well, sometimes not.
“It’s challenging this season because everything is new. Regulations, energy, tires are different compared to last year, so it means that we have many more new questions on the table than we had last year, and it’s why we are all making more mistakes. But my job is also to minimize this number of mistakes. It doesn’t matter what the others are doing, but we have to minimize this,” Vasseur explained.
Optimizing energy deployment
While teams have gained a better understanding of the 2026 power units and regulations, optimizing energy deployment remains crucial. “The power unit is the key. From one lap to the other you can still have a swing of performance,” Vasseur cautioned. “It’s much less than what we had in China or Australia, where we were sometimes losing four, five tenths. Now we are losing one or two. But that’s four positions on the grid in Zandvoort. It means that we need to keep this [focus].
“I think it’s more linked to the fact that it’s a new area of regulations and a challenging year, but it’s one of the focus areas of the team for sure,” he added. Ferrari heads into the Italian Grand Prix weekend 87 points behind Mercedes, while Hamilton is level with George Russell as they trail championship leader Kimi Antonelli by 59 points.
