Disappointment at Silverstone
Despite the chaos and overall disappointment experienced during the 2025 British Grand Prix at Silverstone, there was at least one positive takeaway for Scuderia Ferrari. In terms of the Constructors’ Championship, the Italian team still managed to extend their advantage over their main rivals by a few more points. However, aside from that, most other aspects of the weekend were negative. Under the watchful eyes of Ferrari’s Chief Executive Officer Benedetto Vigna, the team, led by Team Principal Frederic Vasseur, struggled under the rainy conditions of the race at the legendary Silverstone circuit. Once again, Ferrari appeared to be lacking in terms of race pace, car drivability on a slippery track surface, and overall strategic execution.
Speaking to Sky Sport after the chequered flag, Frederic Vasseur, the French manager and team boss of the Maranello-based team, analyzed the underwhelming result and tried to focus on some encouraging signs.
Fred Vasseur reflects on Ferrari’s British GP
“It was a tough race right from the very first lap,” explained the 57-year-old engineer. “Charles Leclerc took a gamble and pitted for slick tyres even before the formation lap. With the benefit of hindsight, it’s easy to say that wasn’t the right decision, but in that moment, he had a strong feeling and made that call.”
Fred Vasseur continued: “From then on, the race became complicated. There were Safety Cars every ten laps, and we were always caught on the edge between intermediate and slick tyres. In terms of pace, we were not too bad—actually, I would say we were quite good apart from the McLaren cars. The real problem was overtaking, especially in dirty air. We struggled a lot, but we weren’t the only ones—Max Verstappen spent ten laps stuck behind Pierre Gasly as well.”
“Still, we need to take the positive from this weekend: we’ve made a step forward in terms of pure performance,” Fred Vasseur emphasized.
Fred Vasseur on qualifying and championship progress
“In the conditions we had during qualifying yesterday,” added Fred Vasseur, “we were first and second in Q2, but now we need to make sure we’re first and second in Q3, when it really matters. From a championship perspective, we’re increasing our lead over Mercedes and Red Bull, which is a good thing. But let’s be honest, our objective is to win races—not just to increase the gap over Mercedes.”
When asked about Lewis Hamilton’s pace, Fred Vasseur responded: “Whenever we had clear air ahead of us, our pace was decent, certainly better than Verstappen’s. But since we struggled to overtake, we were often stuck in dirty air, and sometimes it took us five or six laps just to pass another car.”
Charles Leclerc’s frustration
Fred Vasseur also addressed the mood of Charles Leclerc, who was particularly critical of himself throughout the weekend: “I can understand his frustration after Saturday, because although sixth place in qualifying wasn’t a disaster on paper, it’s tough to accept when you’ve just led Q2, Free Practice 3, and if I’m not mistaken, even FP1 or something like that. The final result was surprising and disappointing. We discussed it after dinner, and he was still very angry. I tried to help him refocus and stay motivated.”
“I know Charles very well,” Vasseur added. “He is always the first to admit when he makes a mistake. But in sport, everyone makes mistakes—ourselves included, and so do the others. What’s important is that we continue to work and grow as a team.”
Looking ahead to Spa
“In the race, Charles took that gamble, but after the first lap, he saw he was already five seconds behind the car ahead and realized it wasn’t going to work. I’m not saying it didn’t matter, but even so, we showed signs of progress in terms of raw performance. That has to be our starting point as we prepare for the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps.”
“There are still 11 races remaining in the 2025 Formula 1 season, and with that come 11 new opportunities to do better than today. That said, the car balance Charles had in these conditions made the car extremely difficult to drive. He also had a bit of bad luck—we had expected to use the intermediate tyres only for a couple of laps before the track dried, but then a downpour arrived just ten minutes before the start. That changed everything.”
“It wasn’t easy to find the right setup and balance under those conditions,” concluded Ferrari Team Principal Frederic Vasseur.
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