(Motorsport-Total.com) – Ferrari has perhaps not experienced the very highest highs and the very lowest lows so far in the 2026 Formula 1 season, but team principal Frederic Vasseur still sees the first eleven races of the year as characterized by a two-part pattern.
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Since the season opener, Ferrari has held second place in the Constructors’ Championship but has increasingly challenged the dominant Mercedes Silver Arrows – with wins by Lewis Hamilton in Barcelona and Charles Leclerc in Silverstone.
“The first part of the season went, I would say, probably in two phases,” commented Vasseur after the Hungarian Grand Prix. “The first lasted until Spain, when Mercedes was flying and scored around 100 points more than us in four or five events. And after Spain, when we came back, we scored more points than Mercedes in those four or five races.”
Vasseur’s analysis largely matches the points actually scored by each team overall, although it should be noted that the Mercedes drivers have had a bit more bad luck recently – including George Russell’s technical failure while leading in Canada and his unfortunate drive-through penalty in Monaco, while a mechanical defect took Kimi Antonelli out of second place in Silverstone.
Russell was spun by Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari at the Spa-Francorchamps race and scored only six points in Hungary, with these events due to various technical problems.
Of course, Ferrari was not immune to problems in the respective sessions, as the chaotic weekend at the Hungaroring showed.
“Where we need to improve – if I draw a conclusion based on today – I would say: in execution,” emphasizes Vasseur. “But execution has actually been a strong point for us since the start of the season.”
“We know we need to improve on the engine side, and we will do that, even though inertia with the engine is much higher than with the chassis [since development takes more time]. The most important thing will be to maintain the pace of development.”
Ferrari has caught up – at least on Mercedes
Looking at qualifying, Ferrari’s deficit to pole position until Monaco averaged 0.442 seconds but has since Barcelona shrunk to only 0.204 seconds, indicating solid progress – especially compared to Mercedes.
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Nevertheless, the rival top teams have by no means been idle: In the same period, Red Bull’s deficit shrank from 0.577 to 0.466 seconds, while McLaren’s decreased from 0.469 to 0.383 seconds, with Lando Norris taking pole in Hungary following further updates to the MCL40.
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“McLaren has made a huge step forward, but they don’t have quite the same philosophy because they bring a big overall package,” notes Vasseur. “I think the last was in Miami or Canada. Certainly, every time they bring something, they make a huge step.”
“But we have a different approach and try to bring parts to every race. And we have to maintain this momentum because there are still twelve races left – I don’t know if it’s eleven, twelve, or ten, but it’s many. And we have room for improvement everywhere on the chassis, and we have to keep up this pace.”
Hamilton praises “fantastic first half”
Meanwhile, Hamilton is quite optimistic that Ferrari can close the gap to Mercedes once the emerging team from Maranello finally upgrades its power unit in Monza.
“It was a fantastic first half, considering that in the first half of the season we were probably three or four tenths down on the straights,” says Hamilton. “I know the guys are pushing hard to bring upgrades for that.”
“We have brought upgrades weekend after weekend. Hopefully, more will come in the second half, and we just keep pushing. I think the second half will be stronger. Normally, the second half is a stronger phase for me. So I will really use this time to realign myself and try to come back more dynamic, fitter, and mentally better prepared.”
As for Leclerc, he also believes the development race in the remaining season will be crucial: “It’s again a championship where upgrades are much more significant than in the past because they allow us to make such a big step forward,” emphasizes the Monegasque.
“We saw it this weekend with McLaren [in Hungary]. So it will be important that we stay on the gas and continue to be as aggressive as before with the development program. And then we’ll see how it goes in Zandvoort.”
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