Why early-season upgrades will be relentless in 2026, according to Fred Vasseur

Fred Vasseur believes the start of the 2026 F1 season will see a flurry of rapid upgrades from most teams during Bahrain testing and into Melbourne as development rates spike early on

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has predicted a high rate of development in the early stages of the 2026 Formula 1 season.

The Frenchman argued that the majority of teams will likely bring upgrades to the season-opening Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park, as well as to the second round of pre-season testing in Bahrain.

“I’m really convinced that everybody will bring huge upgrades next week and perhaps again in Melbourne,” the Frenchman explained to F1.com.

“And it will be like this at the beginning of the season because the rate of development is very, very high, and it makes sense to speed up the new parts and the lead time on the new parts, but I’m focused on myself.”

Discussing how the first week of pre-season at the Bahrain International Circuit went for the Maranello outfit, Vasseur explained in a press release from the team: "Going into the season, the target was to make the most of the first test sessions by accumulating mileage and collecting as much data as possible.

"So far, everything has gone well from an operational point of view, with good reliability and plenty of laps completed, which is important both for our preparation and to analyse the data back in the factory.

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari SF-26

Photo by: Federico Basile | AG Photo

"We will use this information to continue improving the car and our understanding of all procedures. Performance is a separate matter: the priority at this stage is to build knowledge and put ourselves in the best possible position ahead of Melbourne, knowing that we still have time to make further steps forward."

The second week of pre-season testing is already underway with the first morning session coming to an end. At the time of writing, Ferrari's Charles Leclerc had posted the fastest time so far, albeit with the usual testing caveats.

The Australian Grand Prix will kick off the season from 6-8 March followed by the Chinese Grand Prix the week after from 13-15 March.