Ferrari, the secrets and techniques of Mission 678 for 2026: what’s being developed in Maranello
What’s Ferrari making ready in Maranello with an eye fixed on the 2026 Components 1 season? The main focus is already shifting past the current, even because the calendar calls for the conclusion of a fancy and demanding marketing campaign. The 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend sparked curiosity and debate across the technical selections made by Charles Leclerc, who ran an experimental set-up that attracted appreciable consideration. Nonetheless, Ferrari was fast to close down any direct hyperlink with the long run: Mission 678, the 2026 automotive, will comply with a very totally different path.
Mission 678, a very new Ferrari
Fred Vasseur clarified the scenario by ruling out any conceptual continuity between the late-2025 experiments and the automotive designed for the brand new regulatory period. “The philosophy of the 2026 automotive could have nothing to do with the present one: half of the automotive will probably be totally different and the issues which have accompanied us this yr will now not exist,” defined the staff principal, whereas additionally hinting that new challenges will inevitably emerge.
The message from Maranello is evident: Mission 678 is being constructed on fully totally different foundations, conceived particularly for radically modified laws, and can’t be influenced by stop-gap options adopted to handle a tough finish to the season. Consequently, Ferrari’s work on the long run is progressing on separate tracks from the rapid wants seen on observe in 2025.
Tyres and the Abu Dhabi experiments
In accordance with Fred Vasseur, the true frequent thread all through the 2025 season was the unpredictable behaviour of the tyres. “The tyres conditioned your entire central a part of the season,” he underlined, explaining how even the smallest particulars had been usually sufficient to fully overturn a consequence.
On circuits equivalent to Mexico, he recalled, managing the outlap was decisive: “5 kilometres per hour roughly made the distinction between being inside or outdoors the perfect window.” Such a minimal margin may translate into one or two tenths of a second in qualifying, but it was sufficient to show a constructive weekend into a sophisticated one.
It was exactly on this context that the intense set-up examined by Charles Leclerc in Abu Dhabi got here into play, launched as a response to a tough Friday morning. “Once you get the preliminary set-up mistaken, you shortly go from a P4 or P5 to a P14, and it turns into a drama,” Fred Vasseur admitted, stressing how the whole lot can hinge on infinitesimal particulars.
Regardless of the early difficulties, the Ferrari staff principal praised the staff’s means to reply. “Because of the work carried out in Maranello and on the observe, the restoration was good,” he mentioned. It was an indication of resilience that claims an amazing deal in regards to the present Ferrari, caught between managing a difficult current and constructing a future that, in 2026, guarantees to rewrite the principles of the sport.
By distancing Mission 678 from the experimental setups of the present season, Fred Vasseur is signaling a complete technical reset meant to get rid of the Scuderia’s recurring tire-management weaknesses. This strategic separation between the rapid race-weekend fixes and the long-term 2026 growth means that Ferrari is banking on a recent begin to lastly unlock the consistency required to problem for the world title as soon as the brand new laws take impact.
Jan 5, 2026
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