(Motorsport-Total.com) – While Ferrari is under close scrutiny due to the continuous development of the SF-26, the teams searching for performance in the midfield are clear: a similar upgrade strategy is impossible for them.
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The new regulations introduced by Formula 1 for the 2026 season have completely reset the development cycle to zero. The team that previously stood at the top of the pyramid – McLaren – has been replaced by Mercedes.
But the new cycle also brings greater opportunities to make significant leaps through update packages, as the law of diminishing returns is once again at the very beginning.
Wolff against Ferrari
And while Mercedes was the dominant force in the early phase of the season, Ferrari has aggressively pushed forward the development of its SF-26. The work in Maranello is already bearing fruit: Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc secured wins in Spain and Great Britain.
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This philosophy has raised eyebrows in the paddock. Not least with Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff, who publicly questioned whether the Scuderia could comply with the championship’s budget cap if they revised their package so frequently.
His Ferrari counterpart Fred Vasseur was anything but happy that his longtime friend had singled out his team in Silverstone. When asked why this might be, the Frenchman hinted that the team’s “upgrades” were being made bigger than they actually are in reality.
Vasseur takes a stand
“I found it a bit strange, because I think the more performance a team can bring at the start, if we can bring something at the start, then we do. And it’s better to have two tenths for five races than two tenths for the last two,” explains Vasseur.
“But sometimes it’s difficult to find performance, sometimes a bit less. Sometimes you might feel like we’re bringing a big upgrade, but it’s just a modification of a few parts, nothing more.”
While Ferrari has the capacity to improve its car step by step – just like Red Bull in recent races – the development plan further back in the field is significantly more complicated.
Williams can’t keep up the pace
Williams is one of the teams that had a cautious start to a season that was actually touted as a big step forward from the midfield.
Team boss James Vowles explained in detail why the Grove team cannot follow Ferrari’s aggressive development strategy: “Even if I had everything on time and ready to use, our efficiency level is not at the standard of a Formula 1 team that has had an established way of working for ten years.”
“That’s just a fact. So they have much more efficient processes in the background. Take Williams: we didn’t have an external supplier network at the right level because fundamentally there simply wasn’t enough money to pay them.”
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“Mercedes has built a relationship over twelve years to have the best suppliers, and the best people at these suppliers work on their product on time, with the right communication and the right working methods. Sounds simple, I know.”
Williams wants to reach the level
“But if that is missing, I try to build in two years what others have developed in ten years – and that without necessarily having the best allocation of people around. That doesn’t happen overnight.”
“That means there is a loss of efficiency, and that can be either time or money. You can choose which of these two levers you want to pull, or whether you want to pull both.”
“It’s the same with Ferrari. All top teams have that. Our task in all this is to find a way to reach this level or even think differently than they do to get there.”
Aston Martin lags behind
“But I think for the other side of the grid it fundamentally applies: it will cost more money and take more time to produce parts.”
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Aston Martin found itself at the very back of the field after a nightmare start to the season but is still ahead of newcomer Cadillac – thanks to an inherited point at the controversial Monaco Grand Prix in June.
Since the season opener, only minimal updates have been made to the AMR26, but a comprehensive package is expected for the Hungarian Grand Prix before the summer break.
Upgrades planned long in advance
Asked how Ferrari’s strategy could be possible and whether the Silverstone team could copy it with their own car, the lead engineer at the track, Mike Krack, replied: “It depends on the plan. At the end of the day, the decision was made. You will remember that we said we are not bringing new parts race after race after race.”
“And if their plan was different, then it was different. You just have to remember one thing: if you bring an upgrade every week, you have to plan that well in advance.”
“You can’t say: ‘I was bad in Austria and the week after in Silverstone I have an upgrade.’ It all follows a plan that took a lot of time to create, where everything is factored in – logistics, production, the technical peculiarities of the track and all that. So every team has its plan and works within its framework.”
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