Ferrari Formula One team principal Fred Vasseur has warned of a potential reset of the competitive order from the upcoming Miami Grand Prix, given the unplanned month-long gap teams got to develop their cars.
The first three races of the 2026 F1 season saw Mercedes dominate the grid, with Ferrari not too far behind. Also in the mix was McLaren, given Oscar Piastri’s second-place finish at the Japanese Grand Prix.
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While the season was to continue in April with the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian GPs, the military conflict between the U.S. and its ally Israel against Iran led to the cancellations of those races.
As a result, the entire month of April will help teams in developing their cars, an opportunity they would not have received if it hadn’t been for the war. This will also allow teams struggling with the new regulations, such as Red Bull, Aston Martin, and Williams, to iron out the issues on their cars.
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Vasseur believes the month-long gap has the potential to change the competitive order, something that could be seen in Miami, as teams will likely bring upgraded cars to the Miami International Autodrome in the first week of May.
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Speaking to RacingNews365, Vasseur stated that Ferrari’s goal is to win races and added the need to catch up with Mercedes in the developmental race. He said:
“The target is to be on the podium and to win race.
“We have a deficit of performance on Mercedes, this is clear and in the power-limited section, it means that we have to do a better job, we have to improve.
“But overall that we are not that far away.”
Vasseur said that things could change from the race in Miami, and a ramping up of the developmental race could take place throughout the 2026 season. However, he advises his team against fearing the rapid changes that may be visible this year. He said:
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“We are scoring points, but we know that from Miami it will probably be another championship.
“It means that we have to continue to score good points, to [score] podiums, to not be far away from Mercedes and to be very efficient in terms of the championship.
“The season will be super long because the rate of development will be high.
“We don’t have to be scared about this, we just have to score the maximum points that we can score every single weekend and continue to do a good job in development for the future.”