Ferrari are rolling their last dice in F1 title race, but already their boss is tapping the brakes

Vasseur looking serious in conversation with Hamilton, who has back to the camera — Photo: © IMAGO

Ferrari F1

Ferrari are rolling their last dice in F1 title race, but already their boss is tapping the brakes

Pessimism, or just realism?

Chris Deeley Editor

Experienced sports writer covering F1 and other motorsports since 2023

Sunday 30 August 2026 13:55

Make us your Google favorite

It seems like bad news for fans of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc in the F1 title race is never more than a few days away .

This time it comes in the form of a bucket of cold water from team principal Fred Vasseur, who has warned that the team's anticipated second ADUO power unit upgrade will not be the sort of gamechanger that many have been hoping for.

Ferrari are looking to bring their second engine upgrade of the year at their home Italian Grand Prix next weekend, previously predicted to be worth around 15hp, with the power gap to Mercedes notably one of the Scuderia's biggest weaknesses.

Article continues under video

Monza is famously a track where top-end speed matters - and yes, expect to see cars start the long straights fast and then scrub off speed as their batteries run out, welcome to modern F1 - meaning it should be immediately pretty clear to fans just how powerful Ferrari's upgrades really are.

F1 HEADLINES: Russell and Antonelli face FIA penalties as late Monaco GP result set for confirmation

Ferrari boss: We don't want people to get too excited

Quoted by Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport this week, Vasseur warned that the 15 extra Italian racehorses under the team's bright red bonnets aren't going to 'revolutionise' the title race.

"We don't want to create excessive enthusiasm," Vasseur warned, "because we know the power of the Mercedes engine and the developments to our power unit will help us close part of this gap, but they certainly won't revolutionise the situation seen up to this point in the championship."

Another thing which could 'revolutionise' the championship race is Ferrari shaking off their long-standing race strategy and execution demons, something Vasseur hinted remains a priority after Hamilton vs Leclerc reared its ugly head at Zandvoort last weekend.

Vasseur: Ferrari have to be perfect to win

"In recent race weekends," the Frenchman said, "we've learned that if we want to win and stay ahead, we need to do a perfect job in terms of execution.

"This applies to us, but it also applies to the others. There's the possibility of going from P1 to P6 based on good or bad execution."

Hamilton and Leclerc hated the strategy in Zandvoort.

With relatively fine margins dictating races so far this season - last weekend's missed chance at a podium surely still rankles with Lewis Hamilton, for all that he later apologised for his bad temper - Ferrari simply getting out of their own way in key moments could be a huge factor in the second half of the season.