Ferrari’s early-season warning ahead of F1 2026 reset

Although every team would be happy to win in Melbourne next March, kicking off the new regulatory set with a debut victory, Fred Vasseur says it may not bode well for the rest of the season.

Next season, Formula 1 steps into an entirely new world as it undergoes its biggest reset in the sport’s history.

Melbourne winner ‘won’t necessarily’ win the F1 2026 titles

The F1 2026 season will feature a major set of regulation changes with all-new cars on the grid that feature active aerodynamics, and that will be powered by revised engines.

DRS and the MGU-H have both been dropped.

Instead, the Formula 1 engines will incorporate ‘Overtake Mode’ and ‘Boost Mode’, power boosts in attack – although ‘Overtake Mode’ will only be active in what was, in 2025, a DRS zone. The engines will be powered by a 50/50 split between electric and combustion.

As for the cars, they will use ‘active aero’ that will allow the drivers to activate the wings, front and rear, as required for corners and straights.

They will also be narrower and lighter, with a minimum weight of 770kgs.

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But while all the teams will be hoping for a quick start, maybe go down in history as a trivia question, Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has warned that given the budget cap, throwing upgrades at the car to be quick at the start of the season, would cost the team as the months go by.

“A key issue next season will be managing the budget cap,” the Frenchman told Gazzetta dello Sport.

“Because if a team starts introducing four or five updates in the first races, or if – for example – they have to send a new underbody to a distant race like Japan or China, they’re burning through half their development budget at the start of the year.

“It will therefore be important to carefully evaluate step by step what to do, based on where we are.”

The team boss warned: “Whoever is ahead of everyone in Melbourne, at the first race, won’t necessarily have the winning car of the year.”

Of course, on the other hand, being heads and shoulders ahead of the chasing pack in Melbourne would mean a team wouldn’t have to spent as heavily to upgrade its car while others do so in order to catch up.

Ferrari will launch its F1 2026 car, the name yet to be revealed, on 23 January.

Vasseur recently conceded he has no clue how Ferrari will perform in the new era with the team set to get its first indication in a behind-closed-door test at the Circuit de Barcelona in late January.

“I have no clue,” he told media including PlanetF1.com in Abu Dhabi when asked about Ferrari’s prospects. “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 you think it will be but I don’t know if McLaren, Red Bull or Alpine is in front of us. This, nobody knows.

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

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