Ferrari Seeks Answers on Upgrades at British Grand Prix
Following a disappointing performance since their Monaco Grand Prix win, the Ferrari Formula 1 team is pinning its hopes on the British Grand Prix’s free practice sessions to unravel the mystery behind its upgrades not translating into performance gains.
Despite introducing a substantial upgrade package in Spain, Ferrari has struggled to match Mercedes’ pace, with the new parts inducing bouncing in high-speed corners. This issue has negated some of the performance improvements, with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz citing it as their primary concern.
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With the Austrian Grand Prix being a sprint weekend featuring only one free practice session, Ferrari is eager to utilize the traditional format of the British Grand Prix to conduct back-to-back tests between the two cars. This will help the team determine why its car is not behaving as expected.
“We revert to the standard format this weekend, which means we have three hours of free practice in which to find a set-up that allows us to exploit the benefits that the new parts should deliver,” team boss Fred Vasseur stated. “Knowing how best to set up the car can actually have a bigger effect on lap time than the specific benefits of any new components.”
However, Ferrari’s plans could be derailed by the unpredictable British weather at Silverstone, with rainy conditions on Friday morning potentially forcing the team to postpone its test program.
“If it rains [too much], then maybe the test that we wanted to do between both cars to confirm a few things will have to be postponed to the next race,” Leclerc said on Thursday.
Despite the challenges, Ferrari remains optimistic about the potential of its upgrades. “The numbers that we were expecting from this upgrade are there. So, the upgrade is working the way it should be, but it’s more about where you run the car to optimise those numbers that we see. For now, we haven’t quite managed to do that, so we are still working on that,” Leclerc explained.
Sainz echoed his teammate’s sentiments, adding that the bouncing issue might be costing Ferrari even more lap time than initially thought. “Bouncing 100% costs you time. What I think is that it costs you even more time than what you think,” he said.
Today, the British Grand Prix offers Ferrari a crucial opportunity to address its performance issues and get back on track. With the Formula 1 schedule leaving no room for error, the team will be eager to make the most of the free practice sessions to find solutions and revive its championship ambitions.
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