Ferrari tech boss Loic Serra reveals Ferrari sticking to long-term plan to take fight to Mercedes
F1 Teams NewsWednesday, 22 April 2026 at 10:11
Ferrari is maintaining a disciplined development approach as it looks to close the gap to Formula 1 leaders Mercedes, with Technical Director Loic Serra insisting the team’s long-term plan remains firmly on track despite a disrupted early season.
Interviewed by Motorsport-Total during the enforced April break, Serra made clear that Ferrari’s development trajectory for the SF-26 has not been altered by the absence of races, as the Scuderia continues its pursuit of Mercedes at the front of the field.
“Not so much, because your development plan is not created in a week or a month,” Serra explained. “It is something that you defined a long time ago. So essentially, you follow your plan. It doesn’t really affect you if one or two races are missing.”
Ferrari entered 2026 expecting to challenge, but Mercedes’ early dominance has forced the Italian team into a measured response rather than reactive changes, with Serra underlining the importance of sticking to a pre-defined roadmap.
Serra emphasised that the SF-26 programme has been in motion since early 2025, highlighting the scale and structure behind Ferrari’s current push.
Mercedes have dominated the first three races of this season, appearing to catch rivals on the back foot. However, Ferrari have shown big potential and along with McLaren are most likely to challenge the Silver Arrows as the season evolves.
Correlation and data remain key focus
Serra explained: “If you think about the SF-26, we started developing the car at the beginning of 2025, and then you spend a year or more developing it without testing anything, without actually driving the car.
“What you learn comes from winter work, the virtual development. So you bring a car to the track that you have never driven. If you compare that to missing two races, I would say that is a small thing," ventured Serra.
Rather than chasing quick fixes, Ferrari is continuing with incremental gains across multiple areas, balancing power unit development with aerodynamic refinement as part of a broader performance package.
The lack of track time has inevitably limited data collection, but Serra dismissed suggestions that it fundamentally compromises Ferrari’s development direction.
“As I said before, the more kilometres you do, the more you learn about your car, your tyres, the overall package,” he said. “If you run less, that learning process does not happen. In a way, it freezes correlation for a while, for two or three weeks. But it is only a freeze.”
He stressed that Ferrari continues to build on existing datasets, using simulation and factory work to maintain momentum until regular racing resumes.
Serra: Development affects everything
Central to Ferrari’s philosophy is the understanding that performance gains cannot be isolated to single components, with Serra pointing to the interconnected nature of modern Formula 1 car design.
“When you look at development, you do not really say: ‘Okay, just this one area,’” Serra explained. “Development affects everything, the overall compromise that you keep evolving.”
“If you change one thing, it affects the rest of the car. So you never treat them as separate developments. They are always part of a bigger compromise.”
With updates scheduled for upcoming races, Ferrari is working to ensure that each step forward aligns with its broader performance targets rather than short-term experimentation.
Serra also highlighted the importance of separating short-term race analysis from long-term development, particularly as Ferrari simultaneously works on its 2027 car.
“It is essential to keep the two areas separate,” he said. “If you do not, the short term tends to consume the long term. Urgency always takes over.”
Ferrari’s structured approach is designed to prevent that scenario, ensuring resources remain focused on both immediate competitiveness and future success.
With Mercedes currently setting the pace, Ferrari’s strategy is clear: stay disciplined, trust the process, and deliver performance gains methodically as the season progresses. Starting with this week's film day at Monza, to test the new rules tweaks.
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