Friday at Silverstone saw McLaren start off on the right foot, with the MCL38 proving to be the most balanced car in terms of performance between slow and fast sections. Red Bull is closer than the standings suggest, given their more conservative settings, but struggles in the slow sections. Ferrari, meanwhile, is a work in progress, searching for data.
On a day when other series were affected by rain, the English weather gave a reprieve to Formula 1. Both the first and second practice sessions were mostly dry, except for some intermittent rain, especially towards the end of FP2.
McLaren certainly started off on the right foot, finishing the first day on top with both cars, particularly with a standout performance from Lando Norris. The Woking team hopes to carry this momentum through the weekend, potentially leveraging their two cars against a Red Bull that, despite being behind, is closer than the final standings suggest.
The first and second fastest times are a clear signal of an attack on Red Bull and Max Verstappen, who, at least on Friday, have to settle for a chasing role, with issues already observed in previous races this season.
The seventh place in the standings at the end of the second practice session certainly does not reflect the full potential of Red Bull and Max Verstappen, as demonstrated by Sergio Perez’s third fastest time in the other RB20, albeit four-tenths off the lead. However, it seems clear that McLaren started off well, putting together various elements on a track that, on paper, should favor the characteristics of the MCL38.
In the past, the cars of the two leading teams had much in common, starting with their abilities in fast corners. It is no coincidence that even last season at Silverstone, McLaren performed well, leading the race in its early stages: twelve months later, those signs seem to have been confirmed, with both MCL38s in front at least on Friday. Since then, the Woking team has accelerated developments, designing a car that has been consistently fighting for victories in recent races.
To succeed, they had to address the weak points of the MCL38 project, including deficiencies in slower corners, where the front, especially in prolonged turns, struggled to provide grip, leading to understeer. Thanks to recent updates, McLaren has made a significant step forward in this area, as seen in recent races, so it is not surprising that this trend continues here.
As Helmut Marko also highlighted at the end of the second session, the MCL38 seems to have an advantage, especially in the slow corners of the first sector, namely turns 3 and 4, where Red Bull seems to struggle excessively. With Perez, the gap is extremely evident, reaching around 20 km/h compared to Norris’s best time in the third corner, while with Verstappen, the gap is significantly reduced to around 5 km/h. The comparison with the Dutchman relates to the aborted lap on new soft tires, which, although not completed, provides useful indications regarding the first sector’s performance, taking advantage of the track’s evolution.
However, it is evident that much of the gap comes from these types of corners, as the issue recurs not only at the chicane exit but also in turn seven and specifically in the exit and acceleration. It is worth mentioning that McLaren seems to have given more emphasis to using the Power Unit, also opting for a lower downforce wing/beam wing configuration: it is no secret that Red Bull prefers to be more conservative with the engine on Friday, saving more aggressive settings for Saturday. The chosen configuration by the papaya team seems to favor the MCL38’s acceleration qualities without excessively penalizing downforce, with the floor working well in fast corners.
The positive aspect for the Milton Keynes team is the performance in fast corners, where good indications were noted even with Perez, despite Verstappen’s mistakes during his fast lap attempt. There seems to be something to work on in Red Bull’s race pace, with Norris currently favored. On the other hand, it is also true that the Anglo-Austrian team ran with more conservative settings, holding back something for the rest of the weekend.
Ferrari and Mercedes seem more distant. The first day of free practice ended with Ferrari giving significant importance to internal comparisons to understand what went wrong with the latest technical updates that debuted in Barcelona. The updates seem to have provided overall aerodynamic downforce but have also exacerbated other issues, including the return of bouncing.
Therefore, Ferrari used the first day of free practice at Silverstone, a track characterized by high-speed zones, to conduct comparative tests between the old and new package. Leclerc had the more recent package throughout the day, while Carlos Sainz‘s car had the Imola specification. During practice, differences were noticed not only in performance, much more marked in FP1 than in FP2, but also in car behavior: Charles Leclerc’s setup seemed more nervous, particularly in fast corners where bouncing issues emerged, forcing the Monegasque driver to work hard to manage the rear.
Looking at the telemetry data of the two Ferrari drivers, common points emerge, starting with the gap in high-speed zones, as expected. For instance, Ferrari worked a lot on turn six throughout the day, where differences compared to McLaren were noticeable, and on the entry to turn seven, a slow section where the chosen trajectory significantly impacts the telemetry speed references.
However, there is a problem: although the findings in the fast section between Maggots and Chapel are not so negative, largely because much of that section is taken flat out, it is only Friday. If qualifying is dry, it will be interesting to see how much margin McLaren has in corner 13-14 and how close Leclerc is to the limit with a car that seemed quite nervous on Friday, partly due to bouncing.
It seems a bit better in the slow sections, although even there, the Woking team proved to be the most balanced mix on Friday. The SF-24 struggles particularly in turn 4, which requires prolonged steering followed by an ideal moment to return to traction, characteristics that the Maranello car does not always handle well.
This issue will need to be addressed and understood well on Saturday, especially regarding fast corners. Like Red Bull, it is about finding a compromise without excessively penalizing either characteristic. The night will need to bring advice to Ferrari’s engineers, especially concerning the choice of package, the real suspect of this British Friday at Ferrari.
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