Only in Australia did it go worse, but in Melbourne, a questionable penalty denied Carlos Sainz the chance to finish in fourth place. In Silverstone, Ferrari ended up with a three-point haul, without incurring any penalties. At the end of a race where the two “red” cars floundered towards a very disappointing result, the impression is that the Maranello team did not materialize what the two cars could have achieved, leaving many points on the table for various reasons.
Without the safety car that froze the race from lap 33 to 38, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz would have finished the race in fifth and sixth positions, slightly better, but not a result to applaud.
The major issue in the 52 laps at Silverstone was tire management. It has been a longstanding issue for Scuderia Ferrari, a combination (between the team and the tires) that has never really materialized. However, today the problem was the opposite of usual. Due to the lower track temperature compared to Friday afternoon (27 degrees compared to 42 degrees in FP2), tire degradation was much lower than expected.
The first signs that it would be a different race than the simulations from the day before came from George Russell’s first stint, starting on a set of soft tires. The number 63 Mercedes followed Charles Leclerc in the early stages of the race without any drop in performance, but the Ferrari pit wall played it defensively and, fearing that George Russell was close to a pit stop, called Charles Leclerc to the pits on the 18th lap, fitting him with a set of hard tires.
The choice (made to eliminate the risk of undercut) proved to be a mistake because George Russell was able to continue for another ten laps, setting very fast times. Furthermore, Charles Leclerc’s early pit stop exposed him to the possibility of struggling towards the end of the race, leading to the decision to take advantage of the safety car for a second pit stop.
The scenario of the final stint of the race captures the choices made by the team. All cars finished the race on soft tires, except for the two McLarens and Ferraris. While Norris and Piastri’s choice was dictated by the characteristics of their cars (known for putting a lot of energy on the tires), in the case of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, it seemed to be more of a conservative evaluation.
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“Hindsight, we would have made different choices,” commented Frederic Vasseur after the race, but it was striking how many teams changed their plans based on the evidence that emerged on the track, while Ferrari’s pit wall remained faithful to what was decided in the pre-race briefings.
It was an atypical Silverstone, with many drivers expressing surprise at not having to fight with tire degradation on a track that is usually one of the most challenging in that regard. However, Russell’s stint provided clear indications, and everyone adjusted their strategies accordingly, except Ferrari.
“We also missed the feedback that we usually have on Fridays,” emphasized Fred Vasseur, referring to Charles Leclerc’s forced stop in FP2 due to an electrical problem with his power unit. “We only had the chance to do one long run with the Soft tires, which raised concerns about degradation. That’s why we opted for the Medium-Hard tire choice, but it turned out to be too conservative as the degradation was lower than expected. This is an important lesson for us to take away.”
Carlos Sainz’s long run on Friday was not exceptional, but it was in line with other competitors (such as Alonso) who did not hesitate to use the soft tires considering the lower track temperatures for the Silverstone race.
“Our plan was to do a one-stop race, starting with the Medium tires and finishing with the Hard tires,” Fred Vasseur continued. “We pitted both drivers before the Safety Car, which definitely put us in a difficult situation. However, it is clear that we cannot blame only this incident to explain our final positions.”
Carlos Sainz also had his part in it. During lap 44, while trying to defend against Perez’s comeback, he went off the racing line and collected the dreaded marbles (pieces of used tire rubber). Carlos took nearly a lap to clean his tires, losing positions to both Alex Albon and Charles Leclerc.
“The feeling remains that we could have done a much better job here at Silverstone with the package we have now,” Fred Vasseur concluded, and that’s the impression shared by many. Scuderia Ferrari was obviously not able to challenge Verstappen at Silverstone (which is a problem for everyone), and it would have been challenging to compete with the surprising McLaren as well. However, a ninth and tenth-place finish as the result of the race is not in line with what was realistically possible. Silverstone was a sudden setback after the encouraging signs seen between Montreal and Spielberg that suddenly vanished.
