– Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur is convinced: the Scuderia was beaten below its value in qualifying at the 2026 Formula 1 season opener in Australia. According to the Frenchman, the significantly stronger race on Sunday in Melbourne was much more representative of the true pace of the SF-26.
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The Italians finished the Grand Prix in third and fourth places – behind the Mercedes duo George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, who had already secured the front row for themselves in qualifying.
At times it even looked like more: Charles Leclerc engaged in a thrilling laps-long duel with Russell for the lead. However, the decision by the Maranello strategists not to pit during a Virtual Safety Car phase ultimately dropped the Monegasque back to third place, directly ahead of his teammate Lewis Hamilton.
Sunday the true pace?
Nevertheless, the performance jump compared to Saturday is remarkable. There, Leclerc only finished in fourth place, Hamilton in seventh – with massive gaps of 0,809 and 0,960 seconds respectively to pole position. A bitter setback on the first weekend of the new regulations.
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“The feeling is rather positive,” Vasseur summarizes. “We had a difficult Saturday and probably just didn’t put everything together yesterday. Eight-tenths behind was tough, but today we were able to make up some of that.”
For Vasseur, team unity is particularly important: “It’s good to see both cars mixing it up at the front. We know we have a very long list of improvements ahead of us – but that applies to everyone on the grid. The outcome of the season will depend on how quickly we can develop and produce upgrades. That will be the key for everyone. I’d rather start in good form than bad, but there’s still a long way to go.”
Rocket start from Ferrari
A decisive factor for Leclerc’s early attack on the victory was his lightning start, with which he immediately took the lead in Turn 1. Already during testing, it was hinted that Ferrari is currently the benchmark for the “launch.”
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The background is the changed starting procedures of the 2026 era: due to the elimination of the MGU-H, drivers must now let the engines rev significantly higher and longer. This makes the start more complex. While teams like Mercedes and Red Bull apparently had problems with battery management when the lights went out in Melbourne, Ferrari already seemed the best organized during the practice starts in Bahrain.
Vasseur warns, however, against seeing this as a permanent state: “We expected a good start, but it’s a walk on a razor’s edge. The window is extremely narrow. Today the lights also went out very quickly, so everyone was probably a bit surprised. The start was good, but that’s no guarantee for the rest of the season.”
China a completely different story
“We certainly didn’t show the best session of our lives yesterday, but we were there,” the Frenchman continued. “Today the race pace was probably a bit better. It was difficult, but compared to McLaren, Red Bull, and Mercedes, we seem to be a step ahead in the race. But again: it’s just one event, the first one. We have a huge list of things we need to do better – but so do my competitors.”
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As early as next weekend in China, the situation could look completely different again according to Vasseur, as the different track characteristics under the 2026 regulations are likely to carry more weight.
“In terms of energy, China is almost the opposite of here,” Vasseur explains. “The conditions will be much colder and we have the sprint format. That means less time to adjust the strategy. It will be a completely different task. Let’s wait and see where we stand next week.”
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