Ferrari Team Principal Fred Vasseur has underscored the vast complexity of closing the Scuderia’s top-speed gap to front-runner Mercedes, cautioning that power unit development requires a far longer timeline than chassis upgrades.
Throughout the 2026 season, Ferrari has struggled for straight-line speed against its primary rivals.
Lewis Hamilton highlighted the deficit again at the Italian Grand Prix, despite the team introducing a fresh engine specification at Monza.
Vasseur explained that resolving an engine deficit involves supply chain lead times and cost-cap constraints that chassis development simply does not face.
“The process of the engine is mega long,” Vasseur told media including Motorsport Week.
“The chassis, you can make an upgrade from one day to the other very quickly and come back into the pace.”
“On the engine, the process is mega long because the lead time of the parts is long and the cost cap is not easy – you have to produce the engine for the season,” Vasseur added.
“And if you want to start to do the development, you have to produce a new batch of engines.”
Fred Vasseur confirms “small steps” for Ferrari
To help lagging manufacturers recover, the FIA introduced Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities (ADUO) under the 2026 regulations.
While the system grants supplementary development scope to trailing engine suppliers, Vasseur admitted the concessions will not instantly erase Ferrari’s shortfall.
“We are not expecting to recover with ADUO 1 or ADUO 2,” he acknowledged.
“We are doing small steps. If you make a small step on the engine, keep in mind that behind us, it was hundredths of a second.”
“In terms of position, even if you make a couple of horsepower, it’s a good step on the grid,” Vasseur noted.
“Now we will have a new engine next year. For sure, the target is to catch up as soon as possible.”
With Maranello managing its manufacturing cycles and budget cap allowances, Ferrari remains focused on incremental gains for the remainder of 2026 before launching a fully revised power unit package for 2027.
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