Vasseur: “To Melbourne with focus and humility”

Low profile for Ferrari

From the bombastic announcements on the eve of 2025 to a low profile that is never a mistake in terms of media approach and beyond: Ferrari is preparing to experience the first weekend of 2026 in Australia, Albert Park will be the first testing ground for an SF-26 that performed well in the Barcelona Shakedown and in the winter test sessions in Bahrain.

Read more Australian GP: the first two curfew periods will not be taken into account to offset logistical issues

Charles Leclerc does not expect to experience a dominant weekend in Melbourne as happened in 2022 and the Monegasque has aligned himself with the multitude of insiders who place Mercedes as the big favorite to start this new regulatory cycle with a success.

Read more Piero Ferrari: “My father would have appreciated Verstappen. And he wouldn’t have digested the budget cap…”

Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur introduced the Australian GP as follows: “The tests in Bahrain allowed us to complete a good number of kilometers and collect valuable data to improve our understanding of the SF-26. We worked methodically on several key areas and gathered a lot of useful information. Test conditions are never fully representative and Melbourne will be the first real opportunity to evaluate our competitiveness compared to our rivals. As always at the start of the season, there are many unknowns: we will approach the weekend with focus and humility.”

Read more Leclerc shuts down criticism of the 2026 rules: “The driver’s head will count more than before, but the foot will not count less”