Ferrari Team Principal Fred Vasseur has promised upgrades to the SF-26 are coming soon, following a frustrating Azerbaijan Grand Prix that left Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton finishing fourth and sixth respectively at a circuit where the Scuderia had hoped to perform strongly.
Leclerc, a specialist at the Baku street circuit, qualified second — a result Vasseur admitted surprised even the team given Ferrari’s persistent straight-line speed deficit. The race told a different story. Leclerc dropped to fifth in the opening laps, unable to defend against faster cars on the long straights, before recovering to fourth only after an Oscar Piastri error. Hamilton, meanwhile, struggled to get his tyres into the correct temperature window throughout the weekend.
“Honestly, we were surprised to be on the first row, because it’s one of the most demanding on the engine, and we were not expecting to do so,” Vasseur said. “But we knew even starting from the first row that the opening laps, or in case of restarting after a Safety Car and so on, it would be difficult, and it was. Overall, I think that we maximised what we can do in Baku with P4 and P6. For us, we can’t be satisfied with P4 and P6, but in Baku I think it’s the maximum.”
Vasseur described the straight-line vulnerability as a self-reinforcing problem. “The biggest limitation is that when you are in this situation and you want to defend, you go in a kind of negative spiral,” he said. “Perhaps to try to run a bit lower downforce than say optimum, because you need to defend, and you are losing lap time. We had a similar case in Monza. There the pace was decent. The quali position was decent, but we were losing one position per straight line in the opening laps.”
The Ferrari principal also acknowledged that the chassis advantage the team held earlier in the season has eroded. “I think the advantage that we had on the chassis is smaller, or not there anymore,” he said, pointing to recent development pushes from rivals including McLaren, who brought upgrades to Baku, and Mercedes, expected to introduce updates at the Malaysian Grand Prix.
On the question of when Ferrari will respond with its own package, Vasseur was direct but guarded. “I won’t give you the date, but soon,” he said. “We will do it as soon as possible.”
Ferrari has won twice this season but has faced mounting pressure as rivals close the gap. Vasseur noted that the team, like others, is beginning to shift focus toward next year’s regulations while still pursuing in-season gains.