Ferrari arrived at Silverstone expecting another difficult weekend, with the team believing it would once again struggle against its Formula 1 rivals. However, what unfolded over the British Grand Prix weekend turned those gloomy predictions completely on their head, as Lewis Hamilton claimed Sprint pole, finished second in the Sprint, and Charles Leclerc went on to secure victory in Sunday’s race.
Expectations were far from optimistic
“In Austria we had an issue with the engine, and here at Silverstone we’ll be using the same power unit, so I don’t expect that we’ll suddenly find ourselves at the front by magic,” Ferrari team principal Frédéric Vasseur admitted honestly on Friday during the British Grand Prix weekend.
Instead, Ferrari delivered one of its strongest performances of the season. The result surprised the team itself. After the Sprint, Lewis Hamilton admitted that the engineers “had only questions and no answers” to explain the unexpected pace, while Charles Leclerc said after the Grand Prix that the team “will have to understand why the car was so much faster than we expected.”
Vasseur reveals what happened during Thursday’s meeting with Hamilton and Leclerc
Charles Leclerc later revealed just how pessimistic Ferrari’s expectations had been during Thursday’s pre-weekend briefing.
“I remember the meeting. We thought we would be at least five or six tenths behind,” the Monegasque recalled.
Lewis Hamilton shared exactly the same impression: “The guys were talking about being six or seven tenths slower on the straights.”
Frédéric Vasseur also reflected on that meeting during an interview with Canal+, revealing an interesting detail that highlighted the mentality Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc brought into the weekend. Despite knowing Ferrari faced an uphill battle, both drivers remained fully committed to extracting every last bit of performance from the car.
“We arrived here with our heads a little down, feeling somewhat discouraged. In the end, we finished with both drivers on the podium. I’m absolutely delighted for them because they gave everything from the very beginning. They never gave up, and I was really pleased with the attitude they showed during Thursday’s briefing, when we knew it was going to be difficult. Despite everything, they kept trying to perfect every detail, looking for ways to gain hundredths of a second. It was a fantastic attitude.”
The successful weekend at Silverstone for Ferrari was therefore driven by the collaborative efforts and resilient attitudes of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc during their internal team briefings.
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