Ferrari issue warning over F1 2026 pecking order assumption

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has declared the pecking order at the season-opening round from Australia will not be the true picture of how the grid ends the season.

F1 will undergo a major regulation change next year as changes are made to both the aerodynamic and power units.

With teams busy putting the final bits in place ahead of their on-track debut, there is likely to be a lot of undiscovered pace in the cars.

Through an intense development programme at the start of a new regulation cycle, Vasseur expects the order to change as the season progresses. 

“It won't be about the first picture of the season,” Vasseur told media including RacingNews365. 

“It won't be all about the classification of Australia.

“It will be a lot about development and capacity of quick development in that season.

“It won’t be over in Australia. It doesn’t matter if we are P1 or P10, it will be a long way until the end. It will be a long way for everybody.”

Ferrari is hoping the sport's new rules will see it make a step up the order and challenge at the front following a disappointing 2025 season.

But Vasseur asserted the dramatic scale of the changes leaves it impossible to predict where it will stack up.

“I have no clue,” he said. “You know perfectly that all sport is a comparison. 

“I can do a good job, if someone did a better job, I look stupid. And that means that we are focused on a project.

“We are developing the project, we are pushing at the limit, and we are trying to do the best.

For sure, the more time you are spending on the project, the better it will be.

“But I don’t know if McLaren, Red Bull or Alpine is in front of us. This, nobody knows.

“The most important [thing] is not to spend time to try to understand if the others are in front or behind.”