Ferrari left Silverstone qualifying with plenty of reasons for optimism. The Scuderia not only confirmed the encouraging progress shown over recent race weekends, but also saw Charles Leclerc return to the front of the grid. The Monegasque secured a front-row start alongside pole-sitter Andrea Kimi Antonelli and, perhaps more importantly, said he had rediscovered confidence in the Ferrari SF-26. Even so, Team Principal Frederic Vasseur believes Ferrari’s power unit remains one of the team’s biggest weaknesses, especially over a full Grand Prix distance when battling Mercedes.
Charles Leclerc rediscovers confidence with the SF-26
Frederic Vasseur reserved his first words after qualifying for Charles Leclerc, whose strong performance continued the positive trend Ferrari has been building over the past few weekends.
“I’m very pleased with Charles’ result today. It’s his second consecutive front-row start because he also started from the front row last weekend. It’s true that we’ve made some changes to the car, but every weekend the car is slightly different and you always have to find the right setup. Step by step, he’s improving.”
According to the French Team Principal, the result carries extra significance because it comes after a challenging period for the Ferrari driver.
“I’m very happy for him because he was under a bit of pressure. Working in these conditions, with so much pressure on your shoulders, isn’t easy, but today he was really very strong.”
Mercedes still has the edge, but Ferrari can play the strategy game
Following the Sprint Race, Ferrari approaches Sunday’s British Grand Prix with confidence, while remaining realistic about the challenge ahead. Frederic Vasseur acknowledged that Mercedes still enjoys a clear advantage in straight-line performance, meaning Ferrari may need to rely on strategy to fight for victory.
“Our pace this morning compared to Kimi was decent. We completed 17 laps and finished around two and a half seconds behind. When you’re fighting directly on track, it becomes more complicated because they still have an advantage in top speed, which makes it difficult for us to attack.”
He also believes the Grand Prix could unfold very differently compared to the Sprint: “With strategy, the race could be very different from the Sprint. There will be pit stops and we’ll have to decide whether to extend the stints or not. Having two cars fighting near the front also allows us to split the strategies. We’ll see tomorrow; it will be a completely different race.”
Fred Vasseur also praised the overall work carried out by the team throughout the weekend: “Today was a good result for the team. Lewis’ podium in the Sprint and Charles’ front-row qualifying result show that we’re working well together as a team.” – the French manager pointed out.
Why Silverstone helps Ferrari manage its energy deployment
The Sprint weekend format leaves little room for major setup changes, although every session still provides valuable information for teams to analyse and improve. Despite that, Ferrari made only limited adjustments to the SF-26 between the Sprint Race and qualifying, choosing not to make radical changes with Sunday’s race specifically in mind: “We didn’t have to make any major compromises with the setup, but everyone is still learning. We’re not smarter than anyone else; every team improves from one session to the next.”
According to Fred Vasseur, Sprint weekends make the engineers’ job even more demanding because important decisions have to be made much earlier than during a conventional race weekend: “You can’t modify the car between Sprint Qualifying and the Sprint Race, so the decisions have to be taken very early. You need to find the right balance while thinking about both qualifying performance and race pace.”
Energy deployment also continues to play a decisive role under the current Formula 1 regulations.
“This morning we saw that overtaking isn’t impossible. A lot depends on how you choose to use your energy. It was interesting to see drivers being 10 km/h faster on one straight and then 10 km/h slower on the next. You have to put yourself in the right position and use the energy at exactly the right moment.”
Ferrari still trails Mercedes in power, but Silverstone masks the weakness
Although Ferrari has been far more competitive at Silverstone than it was a week earlier in Austria, Frederic Vasseur admitted that the power deficit to Mercedes has not disappeared. Instead, the characteristics of the British circuit allow Ferrari to minimise some of that disadvantage.
“The truth is that we still have a deficit. Every circuit is different when it comes to energy deployment. We still lost something today in terms of power, but there are fast corners before the straights, and if you have a stable chassis, the energy delivery is much smoother.”
Even so, Fred Vasseur was keen to stress that engine performance alone does not explain the competitive picture at Silverstone.
“It’s not just power that makes the difference this weekend. Of course, the deficit is still there, but performance is always the result of the complete package.”
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