In a race as hectic as today’s British GP, there will inevitably be winners and losers. However, Ferrari missed out on double points in Silverstone due to entirely self-inflicted mistakes. Not only was the SF-24 lacking in overall pace, but Ferrari essentially ended any chance for Charles Leclerc to score points by committing him to the wrong strategy.
Leclerc is usually very composed when talking to the media, even in the aftermath of difficult sessions. This was also the case today, with the 26-year-old keeping a level head in his post-race interviews. That said, his level-headedness did not prevent him from being transparent about the issues at the Ferrari.
Although it feels like a long time ago now, Leclerc won the Monaco GP only two months ago. This victory was of huge personal significance and underlined the progress being made at Ferrari.
Unfortunately for the Monegasque and his teammate Carlos Sainz, the SF-24 is slowly regressing.
To make matters worse, putting aside the team’s performance decline, a combination of other issues are also emerging as limitations.
Charles Leclerc speaks candidly after poorly executed race from Ferrari
On this occasion, it was an incorrect strategy that proved costly for the Scuderia and Leclerc:
“I was quite confident this was the right choice [to box early for intermediates], with the information I got in the car. I heard that the rain was intensifying a lot, and it would be very heavy the lap after.
“The thing is, the heavy rain came eight laps later.
“It stopped raining, actually, the lap where we stopped. For eight laps, there was basically no water, so we destroyed the tyres. Again, a difficult Sunday. A Sunday to forget.
“I’m not feeling good. It’s too much now. It’s been too many races, and I don’t even know what to say any more when I’m coming here.
“We’ve just got to reset as a team, but there is always a different reason for why it doesn’t click. That makes it even more difficult to analyse and jump forward. We’ll try to put everything together in Budapest.
“Definitely, we need to speak with the team on the decision process and understanding what we can do better to have more information in critical moments like this.”
As mentioned by Leclerc in his reflections, unforced errors are becoming far too common at Ferrari.
Red Bull and, in recent events, Mercedes are proving why they have dominated F1 for so long. In combination with their excellent aerodynamic work, both outfits are also elite at the operational level.
If Ferrari are to become serious title challengers, they must make improvements in all areas.
