Ferrari Team Principle, Fredric Vasseur, deems drivability instead of power as the crucial area of performance when the new F1 regulations kick in for 2026.
As the 2025 season comes closer to an end with ten rounds to go, the questions regarding 2026 are only growing. Next year, the Formula 1 teams will be faced with a new challenge as the new regulations kick in.
The cars will become smaller and lighter while active aerodynamics called MOM come into place instead of DRS. The engines will shift towards a 50/50 split of electrical power and internal combustion engine.
This makes the focus heavier on electrical power while downforce levels are reduced. The introduction of these new regulations appears to suggest that energy management and deployment become crucial for performance in the new era.
When speaking about the 2026 regulations, Ferrari’s Team Principal, Fred Vasseur, stated:
“No one can predict what will happen with such a rule change. No one in 2009 could have guessed that Brawn GP would be four tenths ahead of everyone else with its double diffuser, and they came out of nowhere.”
Uncertainty ahead of the 2026 season
The incorporation of these changes will be a challenge for the teams to take on. Every team will be hoping to make the right moves to advance their development. At the current moment, it is uncertain which team has made the best progress as it must be applied in action.
The Frenchman continued on to explain that he believes the focus will shift from being on power to being on drivability, expressing:
“This time, the rule change is even bigger. Everything is changing. Chassis, drive, fuel, tyres, sporting regulations. You can make a difference in each of these areas. We are facing a new challenge with the engine. Now it’s power that counts. Next year, it will be drivability.”
“One engine might be good at Monza, another at Monte Carlo, or Budapest. Almost like it used to be when the turbos competed against the naturally aspirated engines.”
Ferrari has been experiencing quite the uphill battle this season. 2026 presents itself a chance for a new beginning. The Italian team’s last constructors title was in 2008 when they grabbed their 16th title. The year prior was the last time they won the driver’s championship as Kimi Räikkönen clinched the crown.
Undoubtedly, the team will hope for the new regulations to put them back on top of the field. Vasseur continued on to express the uncertainties ahead of the 2026 season, stating:
“We are good at reacting. The uncertainty is what makes next season so exciting from the spectators’ point of view. Let’s sat someone gains half a second by making better use of the tyres or exploiting a loophole in the chassis. It will be difficult to compensate for that with a better engine.”
