Fred Vasseur, the Ferrari team principal, has declared that Charles Leclerc\u2019s experimental setup at the 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will have no impact on the development of Project 678 for the F1 2026 season.<\/p>\n
Having fallen just two points short of the 2024 constructors\u2019 title, Ferrari ended last season a massive 435 points adrift of runaway champions McLaren.<\/p>\n
Charles Leclerc Ferrari experiment to have no influence on Project 678 for F1 2026<\/p>\n
Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google<\/a> to your favourites list for news you can trust<\/p>\n Leclerc was restricted to just seven podiums across the campaign, with teammate Lewis Hamilton failing to record a top-three finish in his first season with the Scuderia.<\/p>\n Leclerc tried what was described as an experimental setup at the 2025 season finale in Abu Dhabi, where he finished fourth after applying pressure on McLaren driver and new world champion Lando Norris.<\/p>\n Asked if Leclerc\u2019s setup choice for the final race of 2025 could inspire Ferrari\u2019s development direction with its F1 2026 car \u2013 codenamed Project 678 \u2013 Vasseur offered a reminder that \u201chalf of the car\u201d will be different under the new rules.<\/p>\n F1 2026: Formula 1\u2019s season of change<\/p>\n F1 2025 v F1 2026: Nine key questions ahead of huge regulation changes<\/a><\/p>\n F1\u2019s secret battleground revealed amid preparations for 2026 revolution<\/a><\/p>\n F1\u2019s chassis and engine regulations are being overhauled in 2026 as the sport embraces 50 per cent electrification, fully sustainable fuels and active aerodynamics.<\/p>\n Vasseur told PlanetF1.com and other media outlets: \u201cI think the philosophy of the car [in 2026] will be completely different.<\/p>\n \u201cHalf of the car won\u2019t be the same and the issue that we have all [2025] won\u2019t be there next year, but we\u2019ll have other issues for sure.<\/p>\n \u201cTyres were a key factor all the mid-season.<\/p>\n \u201c[Abu Dhabi] is a bit different due to the layout of the track, but in Mexico you had a tendency that everybody was taking on the outlap and it was crucial sometimes for 5kph on the outlap you were out or in the window.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is making a difference of one or two tenths on the quali lap.<\/p>\n \u201cBut one or two tenths, once again, is the difference between a very good or a very bad result.\u201d<\/p>\n Vasseur went on to reveal that Leclerc\u2019s experimental setup came in response to \u201ca drama\u201d at the start of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend after Ferrari started the weekend slowly.<\/p>\n He explained: \u201cIt happened two or three times [in 2025] that we struggled with the initial setup on Friday morning.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you start and the setup is not perfect, you quickly move from P4 or P5 to P14 and it\u2019s becoming a drama.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are speaking about tenths of seconds, but it\u2019s becoming a drama [in terms of the] position.<\/p>\n \u201cBut thanks to the job done at Maranello and on track, I think the recovery was good.<\/p>\n \u201cBut if you miss one or two sessions you leave on the table a couple of hundredths in two or three corners and it\u2019s enough for you to move from P2, P3 to P5. I think it\u2019s what\u2019s happened for us [in Abu Dhabi].<\/p>\n \u201cIf you have a better start, you probably do a better qualifying and perhaps it\u2019s just one tenth \u2013 but one tenth is a game changer for Charles and for Lewis.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I\u2019m not complaining at all because it\u2019s the same for everybody.<\/p>\n \u201cFor me, as a fan of F1, it\u2019s part of the championship.\u201d<\/p>\n Ferrari announced last month that Project 678 will be officially launched on January 23, three days before the start of the first pre-season test in Barcelona.<\/p>\n The Barcelona test will be held behind closed doors with teams allowed to run on any three of the five available days from January 26 to January 30.<\/p>\n As reported by PlanetF1.com in November<\/a>, Ferrari is expected to have a pushrod suspension at both the front and rear of the car for F1 2026.<\/p>\n If so, Project 678 will be the first Ferrari F1 car to have a pushrod suspension at the rear since 2010.<\/p>\n Red Bull is also expected to have a double-pushrod suspension<\/a> on its new RB22 car, driven by four-time world champion Max Verstappen and new recruit Isack Hadjar.<\/p>\n It emerged earlier this week that Ferrari will effectively produce two different cars for pre-season in F1 2026<\/a>, with a launch-spec version of Project 678 set to appear in Barcelona.<\/p>\n This will be deployed to verify design choices like engine packaging, as well as the electronics of the complex new power unit, before a B-spec car arrives for the final two tests in Bahrain in February.<\/p>\n Additional reporting by Mat Coch and Thomas Maher<\/p>\n Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp<\/a> to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.<\/p>\n You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel<\/a> for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!<\/p>\n