It was certainly not the best Friday at Silverstone for Ferrari. The Italian team ended yesterday’s FP2 running in 5th with Charles Leclerc and 8th with Carlos Sainz. The Spanish driver provided candid reflections about Ferrari’s first day on British soil. Ferrari carried out comparative tests between their drivers, deemed necessary by Fred Vasseur after a tricky sequence of rounds with the SF-24’s latest updates.
Sainz and Leclerc used different specifications in FP1 and FP2, allowing the team’s engineers to compare data between the two drivers.
SAINZ: “SOME TESTS WENT IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, OTHERS DIDN’T”
“We were trying different configurations to try and improve the car,” said Carlos Sainz at the end of the first day on track at Silverstone.
“Some tests went in the right direction. Some went in the wrong direction. But it’s only Friday, so we try what we want, and we’ll see how it goes.”
The Spanish driver explained the work done by Ferrari between FP1 and FP2. In both sessions, the Maranello team focused on carrying out comparative tests. Leclerc used Ferrari’s latest upgrades (which first arrived in Spain), while Sainz drove with slightly older specifications.
Fred Vasseur’s team must select which specification to use for the remainder of the weekend. This will, of course, impact their performance for the British GP. However, the team’s decision will also affect data collection on a more macro scale – as they plot their trajectory for the remainder of 2024.
SAINZ: “MCLAREN IS IN ANOTHER CHAMPIONSHIP”
In terms of the comparison with the opponents, the Ferrari driver has no doubts about the strength of McLaren, which he identifies as the benchmark for this moment of the season.
“McLaren seems to be a step ahead, as in the last two weekends,” said the Ferrari driver.
“They are clearly one or two steps ahead of us, and it seems to be the same here. The situation seems to be the same this weekend.”
Ferrari must address their deficit to their Woking-based rivals, which is now significant. The factory in Maranello must ensure that, for the second half of the season, they understand what development path to follow.
“Obviously we are trying everything we can to understand this package and how we can make it faster, but McLaren is in another championship.”
