Ferrari says canceled Middle East races give extra development time before Miami

Ferrari team boss Frederic Vasseur said canceling the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian rounds adds a month of development before Miami, moving the planned upgrade to that race and tightening championship fight.

Why it matters:

Development windows are scarce under the cost cap; an extra month could help Ferrari narrow the performance gap to Mercedes and Red Bull. Delayed upgrades also mean teams will run existing parts longer, testing durability and consistency under the new regulations.

The details:

• The “big upgrade” Ferrari had slated for Bahrain will now debut in Miami, giving engineers extra bench time.
• Vasseur won’t guess rivals’ packages, saying “I can’t anticipate what will be the package of Mercedes, Red Bull, McLaren, or us.”
• Cost‑cap limits mean new parts are unlikely at the Australian, Chinese or Japanese rounds, making the Miami window pivotal.

What's next:

Ferrari will focus on incremental aero and cooling tweaks while targeting a performance boost for Miami. If the team extracts a lap‑time edge there, the championship fight could tighten early, setting up a more open second half of the season.