Vasseur admits he underestimated psychological impact of switching focus to 2026 as he reflects on ‘tough’ 2025 season

Ferrari Team Principal Fred Vasseur has conceded that the choice to sacrifice some upgrades in 2025 in order to have more resources available for next season’s car was “quite tough to manage psychologically", despite it being a collective decision.

With zero race wins and just seven podium finishes – all claimed by Charles Leclerc – it was a challenging year for the Maranello outfit, especially with Lewis Hamilton struggling to find his rhythm in his maiden campaign.

Once it was clear that McLaren were the team to beat, Ferrari’s objective was to secure second in the Constructors' standings, but they lost ground to Mercedes and Red Bull throughout the season and ultimately could only manage P4 – their lowest result since 2020.

Vasseur admitted that part of their troubles came from the early resolution to switch focus to 2026, when sweeping regulation changes and adjustments to car design will shake up the field.

Asked to reflect on this season, Vasseur explained: “McLaren was so dominating in the first four or five events that we realised it would be very difficult for 2025. It meant that we decided very early in the season – I think it was the end of April – to switch to '26.

“It was a tough call. Perhaps I also underestimated a little bit the call on the psychological side, because when you still have 20 races to go, or 18 races to go, and you know that you won’t bring any aero development, it's quite tough to manage psychologically. But overall, we continued to push.

“We brought some mechanical upgrades, and we are trying to do a better job operationally, and this is the DNA of our sport. We have to accept this. It was a call, and I’m still confident with the call that we made.”

While Red Bull were able to gradually close the competitive gap to McLaren at the hands of Max Verstappen, and Mercedes picked up two victories for George Russell, Ferrari were unable to stick with their rivals despite some more promising weekends.

Leclerc’s numerous podiums and sole pole position, as well as Hamilton’s early Sprint win in China, were the team’s high points in an inconsistent season, leading to the Monegasque driver admitting he felt “very disappointed” with their results.

Nevertheless, Vasseur insisted that the focus on 2026 was not fully to blame, explaining: “This decision was shared by everybody in the team. At one stage, you look at the championship and say, 'Okay, it will be very difficult to come back on McLaren with the delta pace, the delta points.' So you say, Okay, let’s focus the resources we have in the wind tunnel on 2026.'

“On the other hand, we can still continue to develop the mechanical side and bring some upgrades on the car, except aero. And that’s what we did – and it was a good exercise, honestly.

“For sure, the drivers were part of this decision. They are fully committed to the project. It’s something we have to share altogether. In this kind of situation, you have to act as a team, and that’s what we did in that stage of the season.”

The Frenchman added that the hurdles they faced this year will aid their resilience in 2026, when new rivals in Audi and Cadillac and fresh challenges with a redesigned power unit will force the team to adapt quickly.

“You always have positives, even in a tough season,” he said. “I think we had a decent recovery in terms of performance. We were back on the podium – Mexico, Austin. I would say in São Paulo we were not far away. That means we were on the right way.

“It’s good for the team, at least for the psychological side. You always improve a little bit everywhere, in every single area. It's the best preparation for 2026. But the most important of this call... is that we agreed quite early that we would put a maximum of energy on the future.

“That means then we have to react as a team, even when you have tough weekends, to come back Monday morning at the factory and continue to push and develop and work all together. We had a good reaction to tough sessions and tough weekends. Let's see next year if we did a good job this season also.”