Scuderia Ferrari faced a challenging race in the British Grand Prix at the Silverstone circuit, witnessing Max Verstappen secure his eighth victory of the season. The reigning World Champion now holds a significant lead of almost four Grands Prix over his closest rival, Sergio Perez, who has also struggled with disappointing qualifying sessions.
Is there a contender capable of challenging Red Bull this season?
It remains uncertain whether anyone will be able to do so this year. The strong performance of McLaren at Silverstone, coming within three-tenths of Red Bull’s pace, could be misleading, particularly during certain stages of the race.
Ferrari encountered significant difficulties with their set-up at Silverstone.
The SF-23 car failed to secure points, casting doubt on the progress observed in Canada and Austria. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finishing in P9 and P10 at the Silverstone circuit respectively is highly disappointing, especially following their impressive results in Austria.
In Austria, the SF-23 showcased excellent performance and displayed positive correlation with the updates. However, it was evident that Silverstone was not the ideal circuit for the Ferrari, primarily due to layout-related factors that favored Mercedes. The surprising performance of McLaren, alongside Mercedes’ strong showing on a track that suits them, further exposed the challenges faced by the SF-23 during the race.
Even Charles Leclerc himself acknowledged the lack of pace in the car, recognizing that it was unable to match Mercedes’ performance over the weekend, except for McLaren’s exceptional performance.
However, it is important not to underestimate the impact of the tyre specification change imposed by Pirelli to accommodate the increased loads on the cars.
It appears that the team’s technicians have not found the optimal setup, resulting in a cautious approach to tyre ignition. While there was significant tyre degradation up until the Barcelona race, the Scuderia was too conservative and struggled to perform at their best on the English circuit.
Show your support for Scuderia Ferrari with official merchandise collection! Click here to enter the F1 online Store and shop securely! And also get your F1 tickets for every race with VIP hospitality and unparalleled insider access. Click here for the best offers to support Charles and Carlos from the track!
Simulations indicate a deficit of 15 seconds over the race distance compared to Ferrari’s potential, equating to an average loss of 2.5 tenths per lap.
Did a hasty strategy and lack of boldness lead to a domino effect?
Indeed! However, it must be acknowledged that the SF-23 single-seater showcased in the race was clearly not podium-worthy, as compared to the previous rounds of the 2023 Formula 1 championship.
The Silverstone racing track served as the ultimate test for evaluating the progress observed in the SF-23, building upon the developments introduced by the aerodynamic department under the leadership of Cardile. With Enrico Cardile at the helm, the aerodynamic team embarked on an intensive acceleration program at the factory, making significant efforts to bring forward the planned aerodynamic innovations originally scheduled for the Hungaroring race in Budapest.
The engineers at Maranello will dedicate the week to analyzing what went wrong at Silverstone in preparation for Budapest. The team’s strategy had a significant impact on Leclerc and Sainz’s race performance.
Furthermore, the significantly cooler asphalt on Sunday resulted in minimal tyre degradation across all compounds, allowing for the possibility of a single pit stop starting on the soft tyre (as demonstrated by Russell in the Mercedes).
Charles Leclerc’s early pit stop, which forced him to make an additional stop, and Carlos Sainz’s continuation on hard tyres during the final stint after the safety car restart further exacerbated Ferrari’s struggles in terms of race pace.
The battle between Mercedes, Aston Martin, and Ferrari continues to showcase alternating performances, and now all eyes will be on McLaren to see how they perform in Budapest.
Undoubtedly, the technicians in Maranello approached the Silverstone race with a fair amount of apprehension, particularly regarding whether it was worthwhile to invest in further developments.
The optimization work carried out by the Maranello team has highlighted certain limitations, especially when practice sessions are missed, as was the case for the Monegasque driver in the second free practice session.
Could Ferrari’s final exam be postponed to Hungary?
Vasseur expressed less concern about the SF-23’s performance at Silverstone, placing more emphasis on the “fear of taking risks” rather than solely focusing on the car’s pure performance. The team’s technical plans and future developments could significantly depend on the car’s performance in Hungary.
The Hungaroring event in Budapest will serve as a sort of “deferred exam” following the British Grand Prix, providing an opportunity to assess whether the current direction is the right one and to determine if it is worth continuing the work in the wind tunnel.
In terms of the budget cap, Ferrari is approaching the limit allowed by regulations, and the aerodynamic department is making strategic decisions to make the most of the remaining opportunities following the developments at the Red Bull Ring.
The Ferrari team from Maranello reintroduced the all-new beam wing at Silverstone, which had not been used since the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix earlier in the season.
By making adjustments to the floor, they were able to address some of the issues related to the narrow attitude window. This allowed them to incorporate the beam wing into their aerodynamic setup, which had been kept aside until now. Enrico Cardile, the head of aerodynamics, aimed to implement a “switch” in the development program. He sought to be more adventurous by bringing new components directly to the track without relying solely on simulations.
The team’s work program in the wind tunnel continues, with the goal of finding a greater “comfort zone” that maximizes the car’s potential right away.
If this phase proves fruitful, we may witness the results between the Qatar and Japan races, unless Cardile decides to push even further, which cannot be entirely ruled out.
