Ferrari downplay F1 2026 expectations ahead of development rush

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur is expecting F1 teams to undergo a “huge rate” of car development this year as more is discovered regarding the 2026 regulations.

The challengers this year have been built under a fresh set of rules, with major changes being made to both the aerodynamics and the power unit.

Ferrari enter the season hoping to challenge at the front of the grid and improve on a disastrous 2025 season from which it emerged winless.

Having launched its car last week, Vasseur noted it is too early to rate Ferrari's chances ahead of the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix in March.

“Honestly, it's far too early [to talk] about expectations,” Vasseur said.

“We are there to work, to develop, to improve. We'll see where the situation is in Melbourne.

“But it's a very long way until Melbourne. It was an important milestone to put the car on track without any issue. This is good, but we have a long way.

“The rate of development will be much higher this season [from] what you saw last year or the year before.

“It means that nobody knows what the situation will be in a couple of weeks. We have to do our best to continue to be able to collect data, to develop the car and to be focused on ourselves.”

The Barcelona shakedown test this week marks the first chance teams have to collect data from their new cars.

Vasseur asserted the pecking order at the season-opening round in Australia will not tell the full picture of the season as he anticipates teams will dramatically improve their cars over the course of the year.

“We'll see about the performance when we're in Melbourne,” he said. “But Melbourne won’t be the end of the championship.

“We’ll have a huge rate of development. On aero, we are still doing an important step each week, and this is true for us, it’s true for everybody.

“Let's keep the focus on ourselves. Let's try to do a good job to develop the next couple of weeks and over the season.

“But it's too early for expectations.”