Toto Wolff expecting strong Ferrari challenge for 'rest of F1 2026'

Toto Wolff expects Ferrari to continue challenging Mercedes dominance of the 2026 Formula 1 campaign after Charles Leclerc’s victory at the British Grand Prix.

The Silver Arrows mastered the switch to the 2026 regulations by winning the opening six grands prix, but then Ferrari closed the gap with a substantial upgrade package for Barcelona.

That was the sight of Lewis Hamilton’s maiden victory for the Scuderia and although Mercedes was back on top in Austria, last weekend saw Ferrari claim its second victory in three rounds.

“We need to look at ourselves,” said Wolff at Silverstone, where his team took a podium via George Russell’s runner-up finish.

“They said before the weekend that they're going to be lacking energy over this track - they haven't. They were a strong competitor and this is to be expected now for the rest of the season.”

But Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur is remaining pessimistic about his team’s chances, particularly shooting down talk of a title battle as the Italian outfit is 78 points behind Mercedes.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari

Photo by: Simon Galloway / LAT Images via Getty Images

Vasseur’s squad is also still searching for consistency, because Austria saw Leclerc and Hamilton respectively drop from second and third to eighth and fifth after struggling for race pace.

Although Hamilton then took a surprise sprint pole last weekend, he was overtaken by championship leader Kimi Antonelli, who went on to win for Mercedes.

The 19-year-old also took pole for the Sunday race and despite dropping behind Leclerc on lap one, Antonelli was set for a late charge to victory until suffering from a broken wheel shield.

So Vasseur was not particularly pleased when asked about a potential title battle, saying: “Championship fight is your words. After Barcelona, I had the comment, 'Ah, Ferrari is back in the championship'. I said no.

“The week after, you told me, Ferrari is nowhere, I said no. We were on the first row. I will have exactly the same approach with everybody at home.

“To say, guys, we did a good weekend. Now let's be focused on Spa. It's not that we are champions. We are not nowhere. We are improving step by step.

Frederic Vasseur, Ferrari

Photo by: Michael Potts / LAT Images via Getty Images

“But it is like it is. I never try to draw a conclusion after one race, two races, a good result, a bad result. I'm just focused to do more and to do better.

“I think it's true for me. It's true for everybody at the factory. Then it's your job to speak about championship. But I never did it.”

The Frenchman therefore thinks Mercedes still holds an advantage over Ferrari, especially when it comes to overall performance heading into the Belgian GP on 17-19 July.

“Let’s be focused on Belgium,” added Vasseur. “Let's do a good race. I think Mercedes, honestly, they still have an advantage.

“If you have a look at the six, seven sessions that we did this weekend, they are probably five times ahead. But it means that we had a good race.

“It's true that on the long race, it's probably a bit easier for us, because you have the start, you have the strategy.

“On the sprint, it's a bit more difficult. You don't have strategy. It's pure pace - let's see what we can do.

“But we also have to be realistic. Overall, they still have a small advantage in terms of pure performance. It will be difficult. But let's be focused on Belgium.”