In the British Grand Prix, which was held last weekend at the Silverstone Circuit, the Ferrari SF-23 did not show the progress appreciated between Canada and Austria, proving to still be too sensitive to track geometries and the limited thermal activation window of the tires. The end result could have been less harsh without the Safety Car, which came out due to the Ferrari power unit failure on Kevin Magnussen’s car.
The Prancing Horse has returned to being the fourth force in the championship in a race where McLaren astonished everyone and Aston Martin revealed a worrying decline in performance, only partly mitigated by random factors that Fernando Alonso skillfully exploited. Even in cold analysis, the performance offers no positive insights, further compounded by the poor reliability of both the factory team and the customer teams.
The next stage in Hungary will be the midpoint of the 2023 Formula One season, which has so far been dominated by the unstoppable Max Verstappen. The initial assessment of Fred Vasseur’s management is certainly not in line with the pre-season expectations. Scuderia Ferrari resides in the chasing pack behind Red Bull in a worrying manner. To improve the quality of the analysis of the first part of the Ferrari championship, it is necessary to look beyond the mere sporting results achieved.
The new team principal of Maranello has characterized the early months of his tenure through bold choices, both in terms of organization and procedures. If Mattia Binotto’s departure has destabilized the loyal entourage around him, it is equally true that the Frenchman has had to deal with painful departures while trying to find internal solutions while waiting to “acquire” important pieces from the competition.
Another merit that certainly deserves recognition for the French manager is the change in pace regarding the upgrades that debuted in Spain, many weeks ahead of the initial schedule. A fundamental signal for those who were or are still accustomed to development times closer to road production than to Formula 1 competition.
Without the compression of timelines imposed by Fred Vasseur, the corrective measures made to the SF-23 could not have demonstrated their ineffectiveness on a challenging track like Silverstone. It is understood that the acceleration in terms of release of innovations did not force engineers to implement updates that were not considered valid.
Silverstone has shown that this managerial style has not yet been embraced by the strategic area of Ferrari. The exile of Iñaki Rueda to the remote garage in Maranello could not be the solution for all the problems. The choices made by the pit wall in all phases of the race have been characterized by excessive caution, as explained by F1 expert Roberto Cecere for FUnoanalisitecnica.
Ferrari: Several technical areas remain anchored to the managerial model of the previous management
Conservative choices are typically adopted by those who have a significant advantage over the competition or those who are afraid of making mistakes. Considering that Ferrari is certainly not in a dominant position, we are inclined to think that the individuals tasked with making split-second decisions are trying to minimize the probability of error.
An approach that has too often demonstrated its weaknesses. A clear example came last Sunday when Charles Leclerc was called to the pits with a clear and unjustified advance to make the first stop under Virtual Safety Car conditions, in a vain attempt to undercut Russell who was on Soft tires.
The performance of the British driver has indeed opened up new possibilities for all the strategists who initially dismissed the red-banded Pirelli tires. The much lower temperatures compared to Friday gave greater consistency to this compound, which was easily readable but excessively feared by Ferrari based on simulations carried out during Friday. Even during the Safety Car period when there were only 14 laps remaining, the Ferrari technicians did not fit the softer tire.
Fred Vasseur’s work within the Sporting Management is undoubtedly exposing the shortcomings of many technicians, who are accustomed to slow reaction times and freezing of early developments. In all likelihood, thinking about future changes, this is perhaps the best news after the disastrous weekend in the den of the Anglo-Saxon competition.
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