The need to win again took precedence over everything. Ferrari’s last success was dated April 10 (Melbourne) and after almost three months, during which successes faded for reasons of reliability and strategies, for the Scuderia regaining the victory was fundamental.
The goal at Silverstone was hit, Ferrari returned to success and Carlos Sainz took his first win in Formula 1. It was undoubtedly a very positive weekend for the team, and rightly team principal Mattia Binotto pointed this out more times.
In addition to the well-deserved celebrations, however, there is a discordant note, and it is the result of Leclerc’s stage. With a not indifferent style exercise Charles after the race cut short in front of the insistent questions that were asked him about the strategy imposed by the wall: “I don’t want to become the focus of the day, today Carlos won his first race in Formula 1, the spotlight is yours “.
However, there are reasons why interest in Leclerc’s disappointing result at the end of the British Grand Prix was almost equal to that of Sainz’s victory.
A Ferrari that is doing well gives hope for something that goes beyond triumphal Sundays such as the one just ended at Silverstone, makes us believe in the possibility that the Scuderia can have its say in a world key too.
And if we look at the championship standings, net of various unforeseen events that have occurred in the last two months, the driver with whom Ferrari has the best chance of being able to aim for that goal that has been missing since 2007 is Charles Leclerc.
Things could also change, but today it is difficult to find those who think differently. In this scenario, it cannot fail to strike how the race strategy chosen by the Ferrari pit wall in the end penalized Leclerc himself. It may be a matter of circumstances, but it is understandable that what happened at Silverstone is the subject of post-race evaluations.
On lap 38 Leclerc was leading the race, with a 4 ”242 lead over Sainz, 6” 125 over Hamilton, and 28 ”809 over Perez. The sudden entry of the safety car put all the teams in front of a choice: to continue for the next 14 scheduled laps without further pit stops, or to stop to fit a set of new soft tires.
Ferrari decided to leave Leclerc on the track (who had hard tires five laps cooler than his teammate) and stop Sainz. It was a crucial choice, which half an hour later destroyed Charles’ race and launched Carlos Sainz towards his maiden Formula 1 victory.
What could Ferrari have done differently? A double pit stop. The worst scenario that could have taken shape was that in which Hamilton, giving up the stop, had taken the lead of the race, with the two Ferraris queuing up behind him, behind the safety car, with a set of new soft tires. .
If Hamilton had also stopped, the double pit stop would have jeopardized Sainz’s second place, whose stop would have been at the limit against Lewis. No other driver would have come close to the leading trio anyway, given that Perez was behind by almost thirty seconds, and even if he had decided to give up the stop, he would not have gained any positions.
Based on what we saw today at Silverstone, it is difficult to think that a Ferrari with new soft tires (and DRS) would not have been able to overtake Hamilton’s Mercedes with used hard tires, if obviously Lewis had given up his stop to take the lead. .
The proof also came from the most beautiful maneuver seen in today’s Grand Prix, the overtaking that Leclerc (with used hard tires) scored outside the Copse on Hamilton (with new soft).
Ferrari with its choices has protected Ferrari. Having two cars in the lead, he differentiated his strategies, covering all possible scenarios and returning to victory after a fast that was starting to be problematic.
For the purposes of the Constructors’ classification, nothing changes, and for those who are at the helm of the teams, it is the ranking that counts. This does not mean that there are also some evaluations to be made in the ranking which, since Formula 1 has existed, captures the imagination of fans and enthusiasts more, and is that of the drivers’ championship.
The discordant note on Ferrari’s Sunday is that what has been the ‘first striker’ up to now has not achieved as much as he could have. Verstappen’s (almost) empty joke seemed to be a great opportunity to allow Leclerc to narrow the gap in the standings, and it is understandable that in this perspective that of Silverstone looks so much like a nuanced opportunity.
We are returning from a 2021 World Championship in which in the end it was a handful of points that made the difference, a vivid memory like that of Verstappen who, with fresh soft tires fitted during a safety car period, got the better of Hamilton with used hard bikes.
One final note concerns performance. On lap 31 the Scuderia’s wall asked Sainz to give way to Leclerc, who was behind him after the tire change. On the open road Charles confirmed that his requests for the green light were motivated, he actually had more, as demonstrated by the margin built on his teammate in a few laps (more than four seconds in seven laps). Also for this reason the Monegasque was disappointed at the end of the race, and also for this reason the questions about Ferrari strategy in the drivers’ championship do not seem so unjustified.
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