Ferrari’s engine weakness has been a defining limitation of its 2026 campaign, but it may also be obscuring progress made under team principal Fred Vasseur. The SF-26 has struggled to match rivals on the straights, while showing strong performance through corners and at circuits where traction matters more. Its power-unit disadvantage has been less pronounced at altitude, including in Mexico City.
Vasseur, who took charge at Ferrari in 2023, says the team knew it was behind on engine development and expected the first season under the new rules to be difficult. He has pointed to the challenge of continuing to extract performance from the car despite a deficit that could not be quickly addressed during the season.
The engine’s development history predates Vasseur’s arrival, and correcting an earlier change of direction takes time. Ferrari’s qualification for additional development and upgrade opportunities reflects its internal-combustion-engine shortfall. Vasseur has also described the choices around those opportunities as difficult: resources and budget limits meant the team had to weigh improvements for 2026 against work on the 2027 power unit.
Engine upgrades are particularly expensive and take time to validate, unlike some chassis changes that can deliver gains with relatively modest modifications. Ferrari introduced two limited power-unit updates during the season, while facing the broader challenge of preparing a more competitive engine for 2027.
There are also signs of progress in the chassis. Ferrari has developed the SF-26 at a strong rate, and the car appears competitive in corners, although Vasseur cautions against assigning performance to a single area. He says the team’s decisions are guided by lap time and that cooperation between departments is essential, even when their priorities differ.
The development work builds on changes to Ferrari’s technical structure. Loic Serra, recruited from Mercedes, began work in October 2024 after a long waiting period. Ferrari’s 2025 car was a setback, but the team’s subsequent upgrade record suggests it has made progress in identifying a productive direction. Vasseur notes that assessing upgrades becomes harder late in a season, when gains are smaller and car set-up can affect how much performance is visible.
Vasseur’s wider project also includes changing how Ferrari plans and works. He has described the team as historically more reactive than anticipatory and says it has introduced processes intended to improve preparation and long-term planning. Building a culture in which staff can make decisions without being paralysed by fear of criticism is another part of his approach.
Ferrari’s campaign has nonetheless included driver tensions between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, and the team’s results remain short of its own expectations. The source reports two wins so far in 2026 and seven Grand Prix victories during Vasseur’s time in charge. Those results leave room for criticism, but the car’s development and the team’s progress are difficult to judge separately from the engine deficit and the time required to correct it.
Hamilton has expressed faith in Ferrari’s ability to improve its 2027 engine while building on the current car’s foundations. Vasseur’s tenure is not yet a completed development cycle: the power-unit weakness remains a major obstacle, and the team still has work to do to turn its progress into sustained results.
Sources: The Race.