Fred Vasseur isn't mincing words. Ferrari sits second in the constructors' championship with 358 points after 14 races, trailing Mercedes by 145 points. Yet, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton have often shown front-running pace in the SF-26. However, that speed hasn't translated into results.
Two wins have been secured this season—one each for Leclerc and Hamilton. Unfortunately, costly errors in Hungary and the Netherlands left valuable points on the table. Vasseur was characteristically hard on his own team. "See that, execution, I'm a bit harsh with ourselves," he told the media. "We missed a lot of points this season on execution, but probably less than our competitors."
New Regulations and Execution Challenges
F1 2026 brought significant changes with new technical regulations causing uncertainty. Vasseur acknowledged that external factors like new tyres, trickier strategy, and reliability issues affecting everyone played a role. "It's a new season, everything is new. Tyres are new. For the strategy, it's more difficult. Reliability for sure is an issue for everybody," he explained.
Additionally, the arrival of an 11th team on the grid has made pit boxes smaller, adding to pit stop difficulty. "The pit stop, I think for everybody, was also a bit more difficult on some occasions. We have 11 teams, the pit boxes are a bit smaller also, and we have to take this into consideration," Vasseur added.
Nevertheless, Vasseur stressed that his focus is on his own team. "But my job is to focus on myself, not to focus on the other ones, and I'm pushing my team to do a better job. But it's not that we are losing compared to the others. We are losing points on ourselves."
With 10 races remaining, Ferrari still has a mathematical chance to catch Mercedes. But if execution doesn't improve, the 145-point gap will become increasingly difficult to close. Vasseur knows all too well that speed alone isn't enough—consistency and strategic precision are key.
Can Ferrari turn things around? Time remains, but the pressure is mounting. In the paddock, all eyes are on how Ferrari responds to this challenge.
Baca Juga
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