Ferrari targeting stronger second half
Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur has outlined the key areas the Italian outfit must improve as Lewis Hamilton attempts to remain in contention for the 2026 Formula 1 drivers’ championship.
Hamilton has enjoyed a consistent opening 11 races of the campaign and sits 50 points behind Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli at the top of the standings. However, Mercedes has generally held a performance advantage, leaving Ferrari needing further gains during the second half of the season.
Ferrari also remain within reach of the constructors’ championship, with Mercedes holding a 72-point lead.
Vasseur demands better execution
Vasseur believes Ferrari’s biggest immediate improvement must come through better execution after the team endured a difficult weekend at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Hamilton finished fifth at the Hungaroring despite Ferrari appearing to have a car capable of challenging for a podium. The result followed a series of mistakes from both the team and driver.
“Where do we have to improve? If I draw a conclusion based on Hungary, I would say execution,” Vasseur said.
He also highlighted Ferrari’s progress during the season, noting that the team had scored more points than Mercedes across the four or five races following the Spanish Grand Prix.
Hamilton’s victory at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix was Ferrari’s first win with the seven-time world champion in red.
Ferrari plans engine and chassis gains
Vasseur also identified the power unit as an important area for improvement, although he acknowledged that changes to the engine take longer to produce results than developments to the chassis.
“We know that we have to improve on the engine side and we will do it,” he said. “The inertia on the engine is much higher than on the chassis.”
Ferrari has already upgraded its engine after receiving permission under the FIA’s performance-balancing measures, but the team will be hoping to extract further performance from its power unit as the season progresses.
At the same time, Vasseur insists Ferrari cannot afford to stop developing its chassis.
“The most important thing will be to be able to keep the pace in the development,” he said.
He pointed to McLaren’s aggressive development strategy as a challenge, with the team sometimes introducing large upgrade packages that produce significant performance gains.
Ferrari, by contrast, has generally followed a strategy of bringing smaller upgrades more frequently.
“We have a different approach, trying to bring parts every race,” Vasseur said. “We have to keep this momentum because there are still 12 races to go.”
Hamilton still chasing eighth title
Hamilton remains firmly within striking distance of Antonelli, meaning Ferrari’s development programme could prove crucial to his hopes of securing a record eighth drivers’ championship.
With 12 races still remaining, Vasseur believes Ferrari has plenty of opportunities to improve both its chassis and engine performance.
The Formula 1 season will resume after the summer break with the Dutch Grand Prix, which will feature a Sprint weekend from 21-23 August.