For Scuderia Ferrari and Fred Vasseur, it has been a pretty good start to the 2026 F1 season as they bagged another podium at the Chinese GP. This time it was Lewis Hamilton on the rostrum. Charles Leclerc backed him up in P4.
Both drivers finished in the top 3 in the Sprint, with the Monegasque in P2 ahead of the seven-time World Champion.
Ferrari were clearly second best to Mercedes again in Shanghai, but they were also well clear of the rest. Ollie Bearman was over 30s behind Hamilton in P5.
Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur analyses deficit to Mercedes after 2026 F1 Chinese GP
A clear pattern is staring to emerge in the Mercedes versus Ferrari battle in F1 2026.
- In qualifying, Mercedes are comfortably the fastest team and cannot be touched
- At the starts, Ferrari are untouchable and have taken the lead in both Grands Prix and the Sprint this season.
- Ferrari very competitive early in the stints but Mercedes ultimately faster as they go on; the Brackley-based team have better deg, as well as superior pace, particularly on the straights
By the end of the Chinese GP on Sunday, race winner Kimi Antonelli had a gap of 25.2s and 28.8s to Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc respectively. That is a significant one, even if Ferrari are going well and look to have a reliable car and engine.
Speaking in his print media session after the 2026 F1 Chinese GP, Fred Vasseur discussed the gap to Mercedes and how Ferrari must improve in every area to close it.
Nonetheless, he is aware most of it comes on the straights.
“For sure I would prefer to be a bit faster. But it is like it is today.
“We know that we have a deficit of performance, mainly in the straight line, that we have to work on it.
“We are improving because we were eight tenths off in Melbourne, six tenths on Friday, four tenths on Saturday. Step by step we are understanding a bit more the situation and closing the gap, but they are still far away.
“It’s not just about engine, it means that we have to work everywhere, we have to improve on the chassis, on the tyres, like always.
“Racing didn’t change, all the components of the performance are still on the table and we don’t have to be focused only on one parameter, but it’s a challenge.”
Not possible to pinpoint exactly where Ferrari are in the chassis battle versus Mercedes
Asked after the 2026 F1 Chinese GP how good he feels the SF-26 chassis is compared to the W17’s, the Frenchman said it is very difficult to separate the performance of that with the engine in 2026.
The Ferrari team principal is also hoping to use the ADUO to help close the engine gap to Mercedes. While there has been some gremlins for the German manufacturer so far in 2026, their engine is the benchmark by a fair distance on the grid at present.
The ADUO allows teams with a deficit on the engine side to develop and upgrade their engines to try and catch up. Red Bull, Honda and Audi will also be looking to do the same through the 2026 season.
“It’s never easy to separate and I think it’s even more difficult this year.
“More than in the past, it’s one package, including mixing chassis and engine, more than two separate elements, and it’s very difficult to split.
“For sure we had the Sprint quali of Charles [Leclerc] when he got a huge derating and he lost five tenths in the straight line, but this is more management.
“I don’t want to do the split, I want to push everywhere, but we know that we have to improve on the ICE, but this will be for after the ADUO (additional development and upgrade opportunities), on energy, on chassis, on aero, that we are pushing like hell on every single area to close the gap.”
Following the 2026 F1 Chinese GP, Ferrari trail Mercedes by 31 points in the Constructors’ Championship.
