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Fred Vasseur expects Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc to continue being held back for the foreseeable future, as he doubts Ferrari will fix one of the SF-26’s failings soon.
The Scuderia have enjoyed an upturn in form in recent rounds since the Italian powerhouse introduced their latest major upgrade package in Barcelona, which helped Hamilton to take his first win in red in Montmelo and helped Leclerc win the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
Leclerc even had a chance to win the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa last Sunday, but he could not hold Mercedes rival Andrea Kimi Antonelli behind. Ferrari pitting the Monegasque under the virtual safety car (VSC) moved him into first, but Antonelli went on to win by 1.952 seconds.
Ferrari now travel to Budapest for this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix as many F1 paddock figures’ favourites to win. The tight and twisty nature of the Hungaroring is expected to suit the SF-26’s chassis greatly, but the Scuderia know the car is still far from perfect right now.
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Fred Vasseur doubts Ferrari will fix their qualifying deficit to Mercedes anytime soon
Team principal Vasseur openly conceded after the Belgian GP that Ferrari are effectively “at the limit” with their engine during qualifying compared to Mercedes. He does not expect a fix anytime soon, either, so it will continue to leave Hamilton and Leclerc on the back foot.
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“I don’t think we can make any major strides on this front in the near future,” Vasseur said, via quotes by Motorsport-Total. “We’re practically at the limit.
“It’s probably a characteristic of the power unit that helps Mercedes a bit more on the fast lap, while it might favour us in the race, although we’re not absolutely sure about that.
“There’s not much we can do except continue developing the car, deliver performance, and get ever closer to Mercedes.”
Why didn’t Ferrari make Charles Leclerc help Lewis Hamilton during the Belgian GP?
Ferrari know their engine is a weakness during qualifying, which regularly leaves Hamilton and Leclerc in dirty air by starting races from further down the order than they would like.
Hamilton registered his best qualifying result so far this season with P2 in Barcelona, which Leclerc has since matched in Austria and Great Britain. The Briton’s average qualifying result over the first 10 races is also just P4.4, and the Monegasque’s average so far in 2026 is P4.6.
Also, while Hamilton or Leclerc has started on the front row in three of the past four Grands Prix since Ferrari’s updates in Barcelona, Mercedes have earned every pole in 2026. George Russell scored pole in Barcelona and Austria, and Antonelli took pole in Britain and Belgium.
Starting from further back even prevents Hamilton and Leclerc from exploiting the SF-26’s potential over a race distance. But it might take until Ferrari introduce their second engine upgrade at Zandvoort or Monza after the summer break for the Scuderia to make progress.
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