Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur has one ‘message’ for Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc after 2025 season

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Team principal Fred Vasseur admits that the 2025 F1 season “wasn’t good” for Ferrari, after Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton failed to take a single Grand Prix win all year.

Vasseur started the season with the belief that 2025 could be the year in which Ferrari took an F1 title back to Maranello, after years of hurt. The Scuderia have not won the F1 drivers’ championship since 2007, with Kimi Raikkonen, and last won the constructors’ title in 2008.

Ferrari finishing the 2024 season only 14 points shy of winning their 17th constructors’ title to date had fuelled Vasseur’s optimism. But the Frenchman quickly realised how far behind McLaren they were, and he threw in the towel in April to focus on the 2026 F1 regulations.

Vasseur stopped Ferrari developing their 2025 car in April so they could prioritise their wind tunnel hours on the new rules, rather than aerodynamic upgrades. But his strategic decision led to Hamilton having the worst season of his 19-year F1 career in his first year with Ferrari.

Fred Vasseur is telling Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton that ‘everything’ is new under the 2026 F1 regulations

Hamilton failed to take a single Grand Prix podium in a season for the first time in his career after joining Ferrari in 2025. The 40-year-old also registered his worst points total under the scoring system that F1 introduced in 2010, having only scored 156 for sixth in the standings.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about the 2026 F1 engine and aero regulations

Leclerc only secured 242 points for fifth in the standings, as the 28-year-old had his fourth winless season in seven years with Ferrari. But while Vasseur admits 2025 “wasn’t good”, he keeps telling Leclerc and Hamilton that “everything” will be new under the 2026 regulations.

“The end-of-year message, but I think we’ve spent so many hours together that we’re completely aligned, is that we all know the season wasn’t good,” Vasseur told Sky Italy.

“We’ve had time to discuss why. But the message is that 2026 is a completely different story. New chassis, new engine, new battery, new fuel [and] new tyres. New everything.”

Ferrari’s new engine could hold the Scuderia back under the 2026 F1 regulations

Ferrari endured a miserable time in the 2025 season after changing their suspension set-up for the SF-25, which created chronic ride height problems all year. So, Ferrari will use push-rod suspension on both axles in 2026, as they accept that moving to pull-rods was an error.

READ MORE: Who is Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur? Everything you need to know

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But the biggest performance differentiator under the 2026 F1 regulations is expected to be the engine rules, which will increase the electrical share of the power from 20/80 to 50/50. F1 is also removing the MGU-H from the power unit, and moving to 100% sustainable fuels.

Mercedes are widely expected to have the best 2026 F1 regulations engine, which could see the Silver Arrows return to the front of the field. In contrast, there are fresh concerns about the reliability of Ferrari’s 2026 F1 rules engine, with the Scuderia rushing to find a solution.

It is also now said that Ferrari are concerned that Mercedes have found a loophole with the 2026 F1 engine regulations, which could allow the Silver Arrows to increase the combustion rate during operation. Audi and Honda also share Ferrari’s fear that Mercedes found a trick.