Fred Vasseur praised Ferrari’s new ADUO2 power unit after Friday practice at Monza, while admitting Mercedes still holds a significant advantage.

Ferrari had plenty of reasons to be optimistic after Friday at Monza.

The team finished first in FP1 and second in FP2, only around one tenth behind Mercedes. The Scuderia also introduced its second upgraded power unit under the ADUO system, giving the team another opportunity to reduce its deficit.

Ferrari’s New Engine Delivers a Step Forward

Fred Vasseur says the new engine has made a meaningful difference, although he does not believe Ferrari has completely closed the gap to Mercedes.

The Frenchman stressed that straight-line performance depends on much more than the engine alone, including aerodynamic drag and vehicle weight.

Ferrari introduced its second ADUO-upgraded power unit at Monza.

“We have definitely made a step forward, we didn’t bring ADUO2 for nothing,” Vasseur explained.

However, he added that Ferrari still faces a significant gap.

Mercedes continues to benefit from a particularly strong electrical system, which allows its cars to deploy energy efficiently over a larger portion of the lap.

Monza Highlights the Engine Difference

The FIA’s decision to limit recoverable electrical energy at Monza is also changing the picture.

With less energy available, the difference between the internal-combustion engines becomes more visible.

The reduced energy allowance at Monza puts greater emphasis on the performance of the combustion engine.

Ferrari’s drivers have shown that there is still time to recover in the straights, while Mercedes has generally remained stronger in energy deployment.

Ferrari is nevertheless encouraged by the comparison with McLaren and Red Bull, which appear to be struggling more with the unique demands of Monza.

Ferrari Will Not Sacrifice One Driver for a Slipstream

Ferrari also ruled out using one of its cars specifically to give the other a tow in qualifying.

With both Mercedes and other teams considering how to exploit slipstreams, Ferrari wants to maximize both cars rather than sacrifice one.

Ferrari plans to give both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc the opportunity to fight for the best qualifying result.

Vasseur believes having two cars at the front is an advantage and prefers to use both rather than copy strategies designed for a driver starting from the back.

Another potential advantage for Ferrari could come from the tires.

At Monza, track temperatures above 50°C have made cooling the tires more important than simply bringing them up to operating temperature.

For the Ferrari ADUO2 engine, the evidence from Friday is encouraging, but Vasseur’s message is clear: Ferrari has improved, yet Mercedes remains the benchmark.

Franco Colapinto finished 11th in FP2 at Monza after finally receiving Alpine’s latest upgrades, and his first impression was strongly positive.

Franco Colapinto finally got his hands on Alpine’s latest upgrade package at Monza, and his first impression was encouraging.

After missing out on the new parts at Zandvoort while Pierre Gasly used them, the Argentine driver said the updated A526 felt significantly better during the opening session.

A Strong First Impression

Colapinto finished 11th in FP2, remaining close to the top 10 in an extremely tight midfield.

He was also ahead of Gasly on Friday, adding to an encouraging first day for the Argentine.

Franco Colapinto finally received Alpine’s latest upgrades at Monza and immediately noticed a significant improvement.

“The car was quite good and made many steps compared with the last races,” Colapinto said after Friday’s running.

He believes the Alpine was even stronger in FP1 than the final classification suggested.

A power-unit problem prevented him from completing a proper low-fuel run on soft tires, which he believes could have placed him inside the top five or six.

The A526 Lost Grip in FP2

Despite finishing 11th, Colapinto felt less comfortable with the car during the afternoon session.

The Alpine appeared to lose grip in slow corners, while traction was also weaker.

Colapinto reported less grip and a different balance during FP2 despite the promising performance of the upgraded A526.

The driver described the car as feeling more “disconnected” and admitted that he did not yet understand why the balance had changed so much between sessions.

Finding the cause will be one of Alpine’s main priorities before qualifying.

The midfield remains extremely competitive, with Racing Bulls, Haas, Audi, Williams, and Alpine separated by only a few tenths.

Rebufos and Energy Management Add More Challenges

Monza will also bring the usual slipstream battle during qualifying.

Colapinto experienced traffic during Friday’s runs and expects the situation to become chaotic, although he believes it will still be less dramatic than Formula 2 or Formula 3.

Colapinto expects slipstream traffic to create another challenge during qualifying at Monza.

He was less enthusiastic about the energy management required by the 2026 cars.

Colapinto said drivers can effectively run out of battery by the end of a lap, even affecting the exit of the final corner.

Still, the biggest takeaway from Friday was the performance of the updated Alpine.

For Franco Colapinto Alpine, the arrival of the new package has provided the positive step the Argentine had been waiting for since Zandvoort.

Drivers expect Monza to expose one of the biggest weaknesses of the 2026 regulations, with limited battery energy set to reduce straight-line speeds and create unusual race strategies.

Monza has always been one of Formula 1’s ultimate tests of speed and engine performance.

In 2026, however, drivers are expecting the Italian Grand Prix to look very different because of the limited amount of electrical energy available during a lap.

Top Speed Could Be Much Lower

The long straights at Monza create a major challenge for the current generation of power units.

Lewis Hamilton expects drivers to reach some braking zones 20 to 30 km/h slower than in previous years once the available electrical energy runs out.

Drivers expect lower straight-line speeds at Monza because the 2026 cars have limited electrical energy to deploy.

The FIA has reduced the energy recovery limit at Monza to 4 megajoules per lap.

That is intended to reduce extreme “superclipping,” where the electric motor recovers energy while the driver remains on the throttle.

Antonelli Is More Optimistic

Andrea Kimi Antonelli has already tested Monza in the simulator and believes the situation may not be as bad as expected.

The championship leader says there should be less superclipping and less sudden deceleration, even if the cars experience a noticeable flattening of their speed on the straights.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli believes the reduced recovery limit could make Monza more manageable than expected.

Esteban Ocon agrees that reducing the recovery limit should limit the need for excessive lift-and-coast.

Franco Colapinto is less optimistic, describing Monza as another circuit that could expose weaknesses in the current F1 formula.

Will Monza Create “Yo-Yo” Racing?

One of the biggest questions concerns overtaking.

With so little energy available, drivers may have to carefully decide where to use their battery power.

Limited battery deployment could create unusual overtaking patterns at Monza.

Aston Martin trackside chief Mike Krack expects the situation could produce a huge number of overtakes, potentially leading to repeated passes resembling MotoGP-style racing.

Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad sees the situation differently.

He believes there may actually be very little speed difference because nobody will have enough battery power to make a major advantage.

According to Lindblad, Monza could produce a particularly strange form of “yo-yo racing”, where using energy to gain one position on a straight could leave a driver vulnerable to losing several positions afterward.

That makes F1 Monza one of the most intriguing races of the 2026 season. The combination of long straights, limited recovery opportunities, and restricted electrical deployment could fundamentally change how drivers qualify, overtake, and manage their batteries throughout the Grand Prix.