Ferrari is licking its wounds. Considering how the Silverstone weekend unfolded, the final fifth place of a solid Carlos Sainz was the best result the Maranello team could aim for, a position also favored by George Russell’s technical retirement.
The ‘Imola’ version of the SF-24 single-seater did what it could, and Carlos Sainz managed the various stages of a difficult race well, building his final result through the transitions between slick – intermediates – slick. It was not realistically possible to aim for anything more in the British Grand Prix last Sunday, as the overall pace shown by Mercedes, Red Bull, and McLaren was in line with expectations, making it impossible for Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc to keep up with their rivals.
However, the situation of the Monegasque driver deserves a separate analysis. It’s evident that it’s not a good moment for Charles, with some misadventures also influenced by circumstances, but in the last four races, there have been several errors. Last weekend at the 5.891-kilometre Silverstone Circuit, the Ferrari driver made an excellent start, gaining three positions, but his comeback was first halted behind Lance Stroll.
Charles Leclerc managed to overtake the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll on lap 13, at which point Carlos Sainz was ahead with a five-second gap. In the next five laps, the Monegasque lost ground to his Maranello teammate, and when the first drops of rain started falling, he asked the team to switch to intermediate tires. The pit wall gave the okay, but the call from the driver proved wrong. Charles Leclerc’s chances of finishing the British Grand Prix in sixth place ended at that moment.
The scenario is complex. Either Charles Leclerc misread the conditions, while Carlos Sainz and Lewis Hamilton at the same moment confirmed the track was still for slicks, or it was a call born out of the frustration of accepting that the best result was sixth place.
Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur commented that it was now clear that the choice wasn’t the right one, possibly due to being ten seconds behind his teammate. He believed Charles Leclerc saw in that call a chance to fight for the podium again but stated he wasn’t angry about it. In the lap Charles Leclerc stopped for intermediate tires, the Mercedes W15 cars of Lewis Hamilton, George Russell, and another car went wide at different turns, suggesting it could have been a good decision. The French manager noted that when in the leading group, risks are not taken, and choices are based on the decisions of direct rivals, but it is different when one is behind.
Ferrari leaves Silverstone with the worst overall result and performance after the double retirement in the Montreal Grand Prix. The second position in the Constructors’ Championship is still in the team’s hands, also thanks to McLaren’s strategic errors, which has nevertheless climbed to just seven points behind the Italian side.
Frederic Vasseur’s reading of the weekend was that it required a necessary sacrifice to understand what wasn’t working with the aerodynamic package introduced by the Ferrari technicians at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona. He emphasized that there were no tests available and that the team couldn’t run to understand and solve problems except during race weekends. The Frenchman also noted that it was very difficult as a team to sacrifice Friday’s free practice sessions because they knew they would have to recover, and in this context, the rain that fell in Saturday morning’s FP3 session at the Silverstone circuit clearly didn’t help them.
The week off before heading to Budapest for the next round of the 2024 Formula 1 championship, the Hungarian Grand Prix, will be very useful to assess the situation in Maranello. Silverstone should have clarified what the problems were regarding the Barcelona package and what aspects need correcting. Meanwhile, time is running fast, and rivals are closing in. The announced overtaking by McLaren is now imminent, but on the horizon, the Mercedes threat is also beginning to materialize.
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