Ferrari ‘will improve’ engine as Vasseur doubles down on relentless upgrade plan
Ferrari is widely believed to have a strong chassis, but comparatively lacking in engine power.
Fred Vasseur has said Ferrari aims to “keep the pace” in its continual upgrade plan throughout the 2026 season, assuring the Scuderia will improve its power unit along the way.
Ferrari has shown itself to hold one of the highest-performing chassis in Formula 1 this season on the SF-26, with common feedback suggesting a comparative lack of engine power to Mercedes has been its main deficit.
Fred Vasseur outlines Ferrari upgrade and engine improvement plan
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The Scuderia has opted to bring upgrades to most races this season as it takes an aggressive approach to improving its car, with Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc having both notched a race win each at the halfway point of the year.
Ferrari and its drivers are still in the fight in both championships, with Hamilton second in the standings behind Kimi Antonelli, albeit 50 points adrift of the young Italian, while the team sits 72 points behind Mercedes in the Constructors’ standings.
Vasseur reflected on the season’s first half and acknowledged Ferrari needs to improve its power unit, but reiterated his main goal is to “keep the momentum” in the development race, with everything still to be decided in 2026.
“The first part of the season was, I would say, probably in two stages,” Vasseur said to PlanetF1.com and others.
“The first one is until Spain when Mercedes was flying, where they scored something like 100 points more than us in four or five events. Of course, after Spain, we came back, we scored more points than Mercedes in these four or five races.
“Where we have to improve is that, if I draw a conclusion based on [Hungary], I would say execution, but execution so far was probably a good one for us from the beginning of the season.
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“We know that we have to improve on the engine side. We will do it, even if the inertia on the engine is much higher than the chassis.
“The most important thing would be to be able to keep the pace into the development.
“McLaren did a good job for a while, but they don’t have exactly the same philosophy because they are bringing a big package, and I think the last one was in Miami or Canada.
“For sure, each time they are finding something, they are making a huge gain, but we have a different approach trying to bring parts every race, and we have to keep this momentum because there are still 12 races to go.”
Additional reporting by Thomas Maher
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