Fred Vasseur’s Ferrari comments suggest he knows something that Mercedes do not

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Ferrari have begun the 2026 F1 season with an attitude that Franck Montagny has not seen for “10 years”, and he believes it should make their rival teams “really worried”.

The Scuderia have started 2026 as the second-best team on the grid behind Mercedes, as both brands have reaped the rewards from investing early in the new regulations. The Silver Arrows have secured every win and pole so far, and a Ferrari driver has made every podium.

Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton also sit third and fourth in the F1 drivers’ standings after the first three rounds behind only Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli and George Russell. The Maranello crew also sit 44 points clear of McLaren in third in the F1 constructors’ standings.

Leclerc has even finished each of the first three Grands Prix inside the top four and Hamilton scored his first podium for Ferrari with P3 in China. Yet, above all, Montagny feels Ferrari are adopting an approach that suggests they may have “found something” their rivals have not.

Who makes your Ferrari Mount Rushmore? 🐎

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Fred Vasseur and Ferrari’s rare calmness suggests they have ‘found something’ their rivals have not

Mercedes enjoyed a clear margin over Ferrari across the races in Australia, China and Japan so far this season. Yet former Super Aguri F1 driver Montagny has noticed that Ferrari, from team principal Fred Vasseur to Hamilton and Leclerc, have not shown “any doubts” in 2026.

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

Additionally, Vasseur has stated that Ferrari feel “Miami could be a different championship”, with the five-week break between F1’s visits to Japan and America offering a chance to gain ground. Also, Ferrari are due to test their upgrades for Miami at Monza during a filming day.

Montagny said, via quotes by Formula1.it: “This year, Ferrari are synonymous with serenity. Calm reigns, both regarding the battles on the track and the changes, whether they work or not, they don’t mind.

“The drivers are positive, aware and calm. They believe in the process. For me, Ferrari are the only team that doesn’t seem to show any doubts. And that’s why they’re the only team that worries me. Have they understood something that we haven’t?

“In the first three Grands Prix, there hasn’t been a single discordant note in their comments, and it’s the first time in the last 10 years that I’ve felt Ferrari so calm. If I were in another team, I’d be really worried and I’d ask myself, ‘Have Ferrari found something?’”

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Ferrari will not be alone in taking updates to the Miami Grand Prix on May 1-3 given the gap in the calendar from the cancellations of the events in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. Yet Vasseur has left Canal+ commentator Montagny feeling Ferrari may now have an ace up their sleeve.

It is also not only the pride of Italy who now expect their gap to Mercedes will shrink in the coming races. Antonelli believes Ferrari will “definitely get much closer” to Mercedes once the FIA and F1 open the window for engine updates under the new-for-2026 ADUO system.

Ferrari are now expected to earn permission to introduce a performance upgrade for their power unit under the Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities (ADUO) system. Mercedes will not get the same opportunity, as their power unit is the benchmark in 2026.