From Miami onwards, there will probably be another championship
In the opening chapter of Formula 1's new regulatory era, Ferrari finds itself in the unfamiliar position of chasing rather than leading, trailing Mercedes by 31 points after two races that rewrote the sport's technical foundations. Team principal Fred Vasseur, refusing to let early deficits harden into destiny, has drawn a deliberate line at the Miami Grand Prix — declaring it not a continuation of struggle, but the true beginning of Ferrari's campaign. It is a familiar human act: to reframe the present as prologue, and insist that the real story has not yet started.
- Mercedes has seized the early advantage of the new regulations, with George Russell and teenage sensation Kimi Antonelli — now the youngest race winner in F1 history — claiming the first two victories of the season.
- Ferrari's 31-point deficit carries the added weight of a winless previous season, raising quiet fears that the Prancing Horse may again be a step behind when it matters most.
- Vasseur is pushing back against the psychological gravity of the standings, publicly reframing Miami as the opening gun of a separate, more consequential championship.
- The team's dual mandate — maximize points every weekend while sustaining aggressive car development — reflects the pressure of chasing a rival that appears to have decoded the new regulations faster.
- With the technical rulebook still largely untested in competition, the competitive order remains genuinely fluid, and Ferrari is betting that time and development will close the gap before it becomes insurmountable.
Fred Vasseur stood at a crossroads. Ferrari, Formula 1's most decorated constructor, found itself 31 points behind Mercedes after just two races under the sport's sweeping new technical regulations. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton had each delivered a podium, but the team had not yet found the dominance it sought as the season began its reset.
The new rules — centered on power consumption and emissions sustainability — had reshuffled the competitive deck. Mercedes adapted fastest. George Russell won the season opener in Australia, and Kimi Antonelli followed with a stunning victory in China, becoming the youngest race winner in Formula 1 history, surpassing Sebastian Vettel's long-standing record. Ferrari's previous season had already been a painful one — no victories, a drought that ended Lewis Hamilton's extraordinary run of winning a championship in every year of his career. The arrival of new regulations had promised a fresh start, but early evidence suggested Mercedes had read the moment better.
Vasseur refused to concede the narrative. Ahead of the Miami Grand Prix, he reframed the entire competition: everything before Miami, he suggested, was prologue. The real championship was about to begin. His message to the team was clear — accumulate points relentlessly, develop the car without pause, and resist the temptation to measure themselves against the scoreboard rather than their own trajectory.
Miami became a symbolic line in the sand. Behind Vasseur's declaration lay a quiet calculation: if Ferrari could close the gap over the next few races and prove their car capable of winning, the 31-point deficit would lose its weight. The new regulations had leveled the field once before. The question was whether Ferrari could find their pace before Mercedes turned a manageable gap into an uncatchable one.
Fred Vasseur stood at a crossroads. Ferrari, the storied Italian team that has won more Formula 1 races than any other constructor, found itself in second place in the championship standings with 67 points—31 behind Mercedes—after just two races under the sport's new technical regulations. The Prancing Horse had claimed one podium each from Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, respectable finishes but not the dominance the team had hoped to establish as the season began its reset.
The new regulations themselves represented a fundamental shift in how the sport would operate. Power consumption and usage had been rewritten, part of a broader push toward sustainability and lower emissions in professional racing. Teams were still learning how to extract performance from these unfamiliar machines, still calibrating their development programs around rules that had barely been tested in competition. In this uncertainty, Mercedes had seized the moment. George Russell won the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, and then Kimi Antonelli delivered a stunning victory at the Chinese Grand Prix—a triumph that made him the youngest race winner in Formula 1 history, surpassing Sebastian Vettel's long-standing record.
Ferrari's recent history weighed on the team. The previous season had been a washout: not a single race victory, a drought that broke Lewis Hamilton's remarkable streak of winning a championship in every season of his career. The arrival of new regulations offered a chance to reset that narrative, to begin again on equal footing with competitors. But the early evidence suggested Mercedes had adapted faster, understood the new power delivery better, and executed more cleanly when it mattered.
Vasseur, Ferrari's team principal, refused to accept that the championship was already decided. Speaking ahead of the Miami Grand Prix—the third race of the season—he reframed the entire competition. "From Miami onwards, there will probably be another championship," he said, signaling that everything before this point should be treated as prologue. The real battle, in his view, was about to begin. He acknowledged the obvious: Ferrari needed to accumulate points at every opportunity, to continue refining their car through relentless development, to not allow the current gap to Mercedes to become psychological weight.
The season ahead would be long, Vasseur cautioned. The pace of technical progress would be relentless. Teams would continue to unlock performance from these new machines week after week, and the competitive order could shift. What mattered now was focus—on Ferrari's own program, on their own trajectory, not on the scoreboard. "We need to score as many points as possible every weekend, continuing to do a good job on development as well," he said, laying out the dual mandate that would define the team's approach.
Miami represented a symbolic line in the sand. The race would be the third of the season, but Vasseur was declaring it the true beginning. Behind that declaration lay a calculation: if Ferrari could close the gap to Mercedes over the next handful of races, if they could prove that their car had the potential to win, then the 31-point deficit would shrink and eventually disappear. The new regulations had leveled the field once; they could do so again. The question was whether Ferrari could find the pace before Mercedes extended their advantage beyond recovery.
Notable Quotes
From Miami onwards, there will probably be another championship. Starting from Miami, a new championship will begin; we need to keep focusing on ourselves and rack up as many points as possible.— Fred Vasseur, Ferrari team principal
The season will be very long and the pace of progress just as relentless, so we mustn't let the current situation intimidate us.— Fred Vasseur
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does Vasseur need to call Miami a fresh start? Isn't that just spin?
It's partly spin, yes, but it's also honest. The regulations are so new that no one truly understands the pecking order yet. Mercedes got lucky with execution early on. Vasseur is saying: don't panic, the real championship hasn't been decided.
But Ferrari is 31 points down. That's real.
It is. But with new power units and new aerodynamics, the car that's fast in Australia might not be fast in Miami. He's betting the competitive order will shuffle.
What does he mean by "another championship"?
He means the first two races were almost a warm-up under new rules. From Miami forward, teams will have more data, better understanding of the cars. That's when the real fight begins.
Is there pressure on him to say this?
Enormous. Ferrari hasn't won a race in a year. The team needs to believe they can win. If Vasseur sounds defeated, the whole organization deflates.
So what happens if Ferrari doesn't close the gap by, say, race six?
Then the narrative changes. Then people start asking whether Ferrari made the wrong choices in adapting to the new rules. Then the pressure becomes real.