Ferrari Team Principal Fred Vasseur has acknowledged that its SF-26 is still “a huge step” behind Mercedes, claiming the team must ‘work on it’ to catch up to the fast-charging Silver Arrows.
Ahead of an ever-important filming day at Monza, in which upgrades to the car are thought to be being tested, Vasseur highlighted the areas the Scuderia have lacked pace to start the Formula 1 season.
However, despite claiming a podium finish in every race this season, the pace disparity between Ferrari and Mercedes is increasing.
The Frenchman emphasised that his team lacks significant straight-line speed compared to the pace-setting Mercedes, a sentiment echoed by Lewis Hamilton ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix.
“The Mercedes takes a huge step on the straights,” Hamilton explained, suggesting their rivals benefit from superior energy deployment.
According to the seven-time World Champion, his former team appears to have “a little bit more deployment” and experiences “less de-rating at the end of the straights.”
For Ferrari, this limitation means both Hamilton and Leclerc have struggled to maintain pace when exiting long straight sections, particularly against cars with a stronger hybrid power unit efficiency, like Mercedes.
Hamilton continued, saying the team must continue to “work on trying to see how we can eke more from our engine.”
Is overtake mode complicating the Ferrari SF-26’s performance?
Vasseur also pointed to the influence of F1’s new overtake mode. Emphasising that this has had a significant change on how races unfold this season.
The regulatory change follows a similar role to its predecessor, DRS. Ultimately, when in overtake mode, drivers have an additional 0.5 megajoules of energy to deploy when within a second of the car in front, at various points throughout the lap.
According to Vasseur, this feature has created a similar issue to DRS trains in previous seasons.
“What is clear this season is that as soon as you are not anymore in the overtake mode, you are losing a little bit the pass and you have this situation of a ‘train’ on track,” Vasseur highlighted.
Ferrari experienced this during the Japanese Grand Prix, where once they fell out of a second to their closest rival, they were unable to get past their rivals.
“When we lost the one-second gap on the car ahead [in Japan], it was a bit more difficult,” he added.
“We know that we have a deficit of performance in the straight line and that we have to work on it, but it is like it is.”
Ferrari’s upcoming running at Monza could therefore prove crucial as the team looks to address the SF-26’s weaknesses. The Scuderia has yet to use either of its permitted filming days this season. Meaning the Italian outfit will head to its home circuit in the hope of gathering vital data.
It also remains unclear whether Ferrari will qualify for the Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities (ADUO) scheme. The FIA introduced this to help struggling power unit manufacturers close the gap.
A decision was originally expected after the Miami Grand Prix. However, with the reshaped calendar, the sixth round of the season will now be the Monaco Grand Prix in early June.
READ MORE – Charles Leclerc reveals the ‘difficult’ side of being an F1 driver
Discussion about this post