How Fred Vasseur has been challenging Ferrari to take more risks

When Ferrari took to the track in February at the official start of winter testing in Bahrain, the Scuderia’s 2026 challenger immediately turned heads.

The SF-26 featured an intriguing vane behind the exhaust pipe on day one, internally named FTM, and the next day it debuted an even more eye-catching rear wing that rotated 180 degrees between cornering mode and straight mode, quickly dubbed the Macarena wing.

The exhaust wing and the upside-down rear wing are just the tip of the iceberg, two elements that are only having a minor impact on performance but received a lot of publicity because of how visible they were to the public. But they showcased a more innovative Ferrari team that is leading the way on innovation rather than trailing its rivals.

Red Bull and McLaren have since also rolled out their own version of the upside-down rear wing. Red Bull is believed to have started its development independently of Ferrari, while McLaren realised it had missed a trick when it spotted Ferrari’s solution and started developing its own version.

Ferrari’s exhaust wing has also been widely copied, though less effectively because the Italian team made specific design decisions on the rear end of the car to accommodate it, making the FTM tough to reverse-engineer.

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

Photo by: Marcel van Dorst / EYE4images / NurPhoto via Getty Images

Ferrari’s intriguingly innovative 2026 car isn’t a coincidence. It’s the result of a conscious push by team principal Fred Vasseur to further eradicate blame culture and push Maranello to become less afraid to take risks.

Speaking to Motorsport.com in a wide-ranging interview, Vasseur explained the team needed a mentality change on every level, not just aero design, to leave less performance on the table. In F1, small margins left everywhere quickly add up and, as the grid converges, that can mean the difference between starting on the front row or qualifying sixth.

“It’s true that from day one I had the feeling that we have to take more risks,” Vasseur explained. “More risk on track, more risk on the innovation, on the development to take a different direction compared to the others, not to follow the others.”

Whether on design, set-up choice or race strategy, those risks don’t always pan out, and while its drivers Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton have both won a grand prix this year with a more competitive car, there have also been examples of Ferrari going the wrong way. But Vasseur is convinced that the longer his team is adopting his bold mentality, the better its decision-making will become.

“Sometimes it’s paying off, sometimes it’s not,” he said. “When you are a bit aggressive on strategy, sometimes you are a genius, like in Barcelona, and sometimes not, but we are the same guys on the pitwall.

“I think we need to develop this mentality because you are improving on taking risks. You will improve in the risk assessment. You will improve in the capacity to make decisions, it means that we have to continue to do so, and we will do better and better race after race.”

Frederic Vasseur, Ferrari

Photo by: Michael Potts / LAT Images via Getty Images

Changing company culture takes time, which is why it has taken up so much of Vasseur’s focus since coming on board at the start of 2023. But Innovation at the factory doesn’t come without potential pitfalls either. Given the cost cap and development restrictions in place, teams can’t simply throw ideas – and cash – at the wall and see what sticks.

“I’m very pleased with what we did in terms of options of development, because with the cost cap, when you are taking this direction, if it’s not paying off, it’s negative,” Vasseur explained. “It’s not that if it’s not paying off, it’s [just] a shame. You are putting your money, you are betting on something.”

Vasseur said he was “more than keen” for Ferrari to continue leading the way on innovation and believes the company’s changing culture is helping its engineers feel supported rather than feel compelled to play it safe for fear of repercussions.

“It was important for the guys in the team to feel the support from the company when they were innovating,” the Frenchman said. “I hope it’s only the start of this process, and that we will be able to continue to have the same approach and the same dynamic.

“We will have a convergence of directions that we are taking, because one of the favourite parts of F1 is also to copy the others. But if we can stay one step ahead and lead the pack on some topics on some projects, I am more than keen.

“For sure it will be more and more difficult, but it will be the same challenge for everybody.” 

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– The Motorsport.com Team