Ferrari’s Vasseur: “We need to be smart about upgrades in 2026”
Fred Vasseur says Ferrari will need to be clever about when and how they roll out car improvements next season, with money—not technical ability—being the main limiting factor.
“The driver of the introduction of upgrades won’t be the capacity to develop in the wind tunnel; it will be the cost cap,” Vasseur explained during Ferrari’s end-of-year media briefing.
It’s all about spending wisely, according to the 57-year-old team boss.
“We will have to be clever in making good use of the budget that we have for development,” he stressed.
Shipping big upgrades to far-away races can eat up huge chunks of the development budget.
“If you have to send a floor to Japan or to China, you’re burning half of your development budget,” Vasseur pointed out.
This means timing is everything.
Sometimes it might make more sense to keep testing parts in the wind tunnel longer and wait for the right moment to introduce them, rather than rushing upgrades to the first few races.
“It’s a question we’ll have to deal with day by day, seeing what we’re getting from the wind tunnel and what the cost of development is.”
Not all upgrades are created equal when it comes to shipping costs, either.
“If you have an upgrade on the flap of the front wing, it costs less than sending a floor to China,” he noted.
F1’s cost cap was first introduced in 2021 at $145 million, but has now grown to $215 million for 2026. Despite the higher number, teams don’t actually have more to spend—the increase mainly accounts for inflation and exchange rates.
## Hamilton’s tough first year at Ferrari
In other news, Vasseur admitted Ferrari underestimated how challenging Lewis Hamilton‘s switch to the team would be.
The team boss acknowledged the seven-time world champion struggled during his first season in red but seemed optimistic about what 2026 might bring.
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