Fred Vasseur Admits Ferrari Strategy Error at Austrian GP

Fred Vasseur has admitted Ferrari made strategic mistakes during the 2026 Austrian Grand Prix after becoming too focused on matching the pace of Mercedes.

Starting from second and third on the grid with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari committed to a three-stop strategy while its main rivals successfully completed the race with two pit stops. The decision resulted in Leclerc finishing eighth and Hamilton fifth.

Vasseur admitted Ferrari's problems began on Friday, when the team struggled to complete representative long-run simulations during practice. Although qualifying produced a strong front-row challenge, he believes the race preparation never reached the required standard.

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"It was a tough weekend, especially coming after Barcelona. I don't think we got the weekend off on the right foot on Friday, as we struggled a lot in FP1 and FP2 and weren't able to complete proper long runs in representative conditions. In the end, we recovered some single-lap performance in qualifying, but we probably didn't prepare for the race as well as we should have," Vasseur said.

The Ferrari team principal believes the Scuderia became overly focused on responding to Mercedes instead of executing its own race plan. Pushing too hard during the opening laps and reacting aggressively to rival strategy ultimately compromised Ferrari's overall result.

"Looking back, we were probably too focused on Mercedes. We pushed too hard in the opening laps with both cars and then perhaps reacted too aggressively with the strategy, trying to stay with them when, realistically, that wasn't our race today," he explained.

Vasseur insisted Ferrari would learn from the setback at the Red Bull Ring and immediately shift its attention to next weekend's British Grand Prix, where the team hopes to deliver a stronger and more disciplined performance.