Is Ferrari hiding its true pace? Frédéric Vasseur jokes: “We’re copying Barcelona, hahaha!”
Ferrari’s performance during Friday practice at the Austrian Grand Prix raised plenty of eyebrows throughout the Formula 1 paddock. After arriving at the Red Bull Ring fresh from Lewis Hamilton’s breakthrough victory in Barcelona, expectations were high for another competitive weekend. Instead, the Scuderia appeared well below the pace of its main rivals, immediately sparking speculation over whether the SF-26 was genuinely struggling or simply concealing its true performance ahead of qualifying.
Adding further intrigue was Ferrari’s decision to introduce the latest homologated Power Unit specification developed through the ADUO programme. Many expected the updated engine package to deliver an immediate boost, making the sizeable gaps seen on Friday even more surprising.
Is Ferrari sandbagging once again?
The Ferrari seen during Friday’s running at the Red Bull Ring looked like a shadow of the car that dominated the headlines just a few weeks earlier in Spain. Lewis Hamilton ended the day six tenths of a second adrift of pace-setter Kimi Antonelli, while Charles Leclerc finished approximately eight tenths behind. Around a circuit where the fastest lap takes barely 67 seconds, those margins appeared particularly significant.
The performance deficit was so large that fans and media quickly began debating whether Ferrari was genuinely in trouble or deliberately hiding some of its pace. The discussion was fuelled by the belief that the Scuderia had yet to fully exploit the potential of its upgraded ADUO Power Unit, with several observers suggesting the team could still have more performance in reserve.
Before addressing the technical questions, Ferrari Team Principal Frédéric Vasseur chose to lighten the mood with a humorous response that immediately spread across social media.
“We’re copying Barcelona! Hahaha!” Vasseur joked.
The remark was clearly made in jest, but it also reflected one of the Frenchman’s defining characteristics as Ferrari team boss. Throughout his time leading the Scuderia, Frédéric Vasseur has repeatedly spoken about the importance of maintaining emotional balance, avoiding exaggerated reactions after both strong and disappointing performances, and keeping the team’s focus firmly on the work that still needs to be done.
Frédéric Vasseur admits Ferrari has work to do
When speaking more seriously to F1TV, Frédéric Vasseur acknowledged that Friday had been challenging for Ferrari and explained that the extreme conditions had played a significant role in the team’s difficulties.
“It was a difficult Friday,” he said. “We struggled a little with the conditions, which were quite extreme because of both the altitude and the temperatures. I know those conditions are the same for everyone, but we didn’t adapt particularly well. We now have the night ahead of us to make corrections and be ready for tomorrow. As always, we want to do the best job possible. We’ll see the real result on Sunday evening, but at the moment we’re still far from our potential. That means we need to focus on ourselves, continue working and try to put everything together.”
His comments echoed what Ferrari drivers Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc had also suggested after Friday practice: the SF-26 still appears capable of delivering more performance, but improvements are required in several areas, particularly regarding balance, tyre grip and overall setup.
Updated Ferrari engine not expected to transform performance
Frédéric Vasseur also moved to lower expectations surrounding Ferrari’s latest ADUO-related Power Unit update, making it clear that the team had never anticipated a dramatic leap in competitiveness from the revised engine specification alone.
“We have known about the ADUO upgrade for one or two weeks,” the Ferrari Team Principal explained. “You can’t expect a huge step forward. Yes, we’ve installed a new engine, but it isn’t a major performance leap.”
The message from Maranello is therefore one of cautious optimism rather than concern. Ferrari believes there is still meaningful performance to unlock from the SF-26 through overnight setup work, improved balance and more effective use of the overall package. Whether that progress will be enough to repeat the remarkable turnaround seen in Barcelona remains one of the biggest questions heading into qualifying, with both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc hoping Ferrari can once again transform a difficult Friday into a far more competitive weekend.
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