The 2021 British Grand Prix was supposed to clarify the values on track, by showing which car was the best between Mercedes and Red Bull. It didn’t happen because Max and Lewis found themselves in a position where, for various reasons, neither of them would give up.
This episode will definitely leave a mark between them. The big question is whether they will act differently on the next side by side and whether they will trust each other. The contact that took place at the Copse is the result of growing tension and a difficult attempt that Hamilton could make, especially after what happened in Imola. It is a move that naturally requires the opponent’s willingness to grant a lot of space. Max Verstappen is not that driver yet but he was also the one he had the most to lose.
How strong was Charles Leclerc and how weak was the Mercedes W12 in the first stint of the race?
Some data in comparison are very interesting in this regard. The pace of Charles Leclerc, and potentially also of Carlos Sainz, although the Spaniard is slightly less competitive on front limited tracks, was better than the pace of Bottas by 3-4 tenths on mediums, enough to keep him calmly behind after the help of Norris. Another sign that the W12 has struggled with a heavy fuel load.
But why was the SF21 strong on a circuit where on paper it should not have been?
There are some reasons: both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz had good impressions immediately from the first free practice session, a sign that the setup brought by the Maranello team was already quite centered. Quite a constant this season, so much so that Charles Leclerc had emphasized it at the start of the weekend.
Ferrari performed better than others at this event, so much so that in the Sprint race Charles Leclerc was only 4 tenths from the top while Mclaren was no closer than 7 tenths. Considering the power deficit, the performance of the papaya team was rather disappointing.
Something in the preparation of the Woking team went wrong. It should be emphasized in this sense that their Fridays were not always ideal. A Mclaren that appeared not brilliant even if it lost a few points and that is consoled by a Ricciardo in recovery, predictable on a layout that does not have tight radius turns.
The SF21 with the same HP is obviously worse than the RB16B and the W12 in terms of aerodynamic downforce (the front is missing, which cannot be changed with the tokens already used for the rear), nevertheless it showed an interesting growth in this aspect and in handling the balance on harder compounds which until now had created some operating problems.
Paul Ricard was a weekend of external conditions, the rain between qualifying and the race on all but also the smooth asphalt and low temperatures, not favorable associated with completely wrong choices in terms of set-up. The front was thus completely in crisis, the rear also, albeit to a lesser extent. In the UK the conditions were different: the asphalt was completely different, more abrasive, the track much more rubberized and the temperatures much higher.
Almost the opposite of France, so much so that the two GPs are hardly comparable. This is why Charles Leclerc spoke with good reason of “Paul Ricard’s problems not yet resolved” after Silverstone. Should the conditions in France return, the SF21 would not be that of Silverstone, it would suffer more, however with different set-up choices much less than what was negatively seen a few weeks ago.
The Ferrari SF21 car is not the best in insertion or in turns with a long-entrance, where it suffers from understeer, but it has an excellent behavior when changing direction, which has had its importance in some sections where time can be gained. The tokens spent on the rear suspension are paying off and the car is continuing to work well and improve in traction. It is no coincidence that Mattia Binotto spoke of ‘good prospects’ for the rest of the 2021 Formula 1 season.
On the C2 the performance was excellent both in terms of wear and temperature control, something not entirely seen on Hamilton’s Mercedes, with a lot og blistering on the front left and overheating of the rear. On the C1, on the other hand, the W12 has perfectly centered the window of use expressing itself at its best, since Bottas has also significantly improved his performance even if not at the level of being able to catch Charles.
Finally, it must be considered that the Silverstone race was the first Grand Prix with the new rear compound similar to the one that will be used for the production of the 18-inch tire for 2022. No team reported obvious problems of adaptation, but it was an additional variable inserted, to be carefully checked in the next appointments.
Could have Ferrari won the British Grand Prix?
The Monegasque driver could have actually won the race if Carlos Sainz had a better weekend. At the moment of the pit stop, he was 20 seconds behind his teammate; had Carlos been closer, not impossible with a good qualifying and without the pit stop problem, he would have helped in the strategy by preventing Lewis Hamilton from recovering too quickly in the second stint. Or conditioning it in some way on the pace or tires. Something similar to Spa 2019 – in that case with Sebastian Vettel – could have happened.
Hamilton was able to catch Ferrari in time due to the ease with which Mclaren was overtaken and of course thanks to the team order given to Bottas.
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