Vasseur: “Now development capacity counts. I see engineers as freer”

Ferrari, Vasseur pushes on developments The battle of developments returns to be the protagonist in Formula 1. After a 2025 in which the flattening of performance and the looming of a new era have almost stopped innovations on the previous generation of cars, the ability to update the car will be decisive in this championship. Like all teams, Ferrari knows that to compete at the highest levels it is not so much about starting well as developing the car quickly and effectively. “The World Championship will not be decided in Melbourne” is a phrase that team principal Frederic Vasseur has used several times in recent months and which he reiterates even now, after the innovations in Miami have had less effectiveness than those proposed by McLaren and Red Bull. Vasseur’s words “We must start with the mentality that we have room for improvement everywhere. I don’t know how it is for the others, but we will introduce updates that, if last year they made us gain hundredths of a second, this year will make us gain tenths of a second”, these are his words to The-Race. “What will matter most will be the team’s ability to develop, to understand where others are doing a better job and therefore where to grow.” In the same interview Vasseur underlined an element that he has tried to change in Ferrari since his arrival: that “zero to zero” mentality, too defensive for a team that aims to win. The Frenchman is therefore pushing the team to think outside the norm, proposing innovations without the fear of making mistakes, but never losing sight of the final objective: “Clearly what matters is the lap time, so we must innovate not ‘just for’. The target is not innovation, but victory: I’m happy with this change of approach, I see the engineers as freer.”

Automobile Magazine – F1 English News , 2026-05-14 20:55:05