Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur says the team can now work on "different things" after slipping further behind Mercedes in the Formula One constructors' championship. The Scuderia endured another difficult Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday, scoring just 12 points as Lewis Hamilton retired early and Charles Leclerc finished fourth after a failed strategy gamble.
Mercedes extend title lead
Kimi Antonelli won again for Mercedes, who now have 503 points for the season so far. The Silver Arrows appear on course for a first constructors' title since 2021, with Ferrari remaining their nearest challengers but now 145 points adrift and looking over their shoulders at McLaren, who are only 52 points behind them.
With regulations stable heading into 2027, unlike last year when development work could not be carried over to the next season, teams face less of a challenge balancing where they put their development time and money. Vasseur said most of the work done on this year's car will still be useful next term, but conceded that, given the title picture, it might be time for Ferrari to adjust their development plans to get the most out of their spending.
Vasseur on development and Hamilton's retirement
Speaking to reporters after the race, Vasseur said: "We are not in the situation of 12 months ago, because today what we will develop, we will be able to carry it over on the next year's project. We will continue to work, but perhaps on different things, different aspects, but the development that we do now, 80 percent will be carried over."
Hamilton retired just a few laps into the Grand Prix due to a brakes failure. He first encountered the issue on the opening lap, which caused him to make contact with the wall, the Brit confirmed, rather than that hit being the cause of any problems on his car. Vasseur said he did not yet know the cause of the failure at the time he spoke to reporters, but added: "The pedal was long at the end of lap 1, I think. We tried to fix it on the pit wall, and then it happened again a couple of corners later. It made no sense to take a crazy risk, and it was too risky to go to the next lap."
Pace and track position
Hamilton hinted he might have had the pace to make the podium, but Vasseur pointed out that overtaking was at a premium on the new, difficult circuit. He highlighted Leclerc's race as evidence that performance in clean air means nothing if you cannot get past cars ahead.
Vasseur said: "When you see the pace of Charles, you can imagine that we had the pace to fight with everybody. It's more a matter of track position. Honestly, I think it was mega difficult to overtake today. I was more focused on my cars, but I don't know who overtook during the race. In this situation, it's just about track position."
