Breaking news
Formula 1 British GP
Ferrari “struggling massively” for race pace after radical change
Ferrari was left struggling for pace over its race runs during practice for the British Grand Prix after taking a “radical approach” with its downforce level, according to Charles Leclerc.
Luke Smith
Edited: Jul 31, 2020, 6:27 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Ferrari has made a difficult start to the 2020 Formula 1 season after a lack of performance with its SF1000 car, leaving it fifth in the constructors’ standings.
Leclerc said on Thursday that Ferrari was braced for “two difficult weekends” at Silverstone, but managed to finish fourth in second practice for the British Grand Prix on Friday. While he was happy with his single-lap pace through practice, he explained that Ferrari was struggling over the long runs after taking a radical approach to the downforce levels it used on the car.
“The race pace we have been struggling massively, so we definitely need to work on that,” said Leclerc. “The quali pace is a bit better than what we expected to be honest. This is good.
“We’ve taken quite a radical approach with our downforce level, so it seems to pay off in quali, but it doesn’t in the race, so we need to analyse the data, and see what we’ll have to do tomorrow. We can still change quite a lot of things, so we’ll try to understand what we can change to maybe sacrifice a bit more the quali pace to be better in the race.”
Read Also:
- British GP: F1 technical developments direct from the track
- Hamilton explains "difficult day" amid balance issues
Asked how hard the race would be judging by Ferrari’s Friday form, Leclerc replied: “The balance was extremely hard to drive and very, very difficult not to do a mistake. We definitely need to change something on that. Otherwise doing that many laps during the race with this balance will be a huge challenge.”
Leclerc was left as the sole Ferrari driver for much of Friday’s running after teammate Sebastian Vettel was hindered by numerous issues throughout the day. An intercooler problem meant the four-time champion could only complete two installation laps in first practice, before a brake pedal problem limited his running in the afternoon session.
“It was a disrupted day,” admitted Vettel. “We had an issue with the brake pedal and we had to stop and fix that, so a bit difficult to get into a rhythm. I think overall, still little bits to learn from and take away for tomorrow. I think we need to improve the car. We’ll see where we are tomorrow.”
The track temperature exceeded 45ºC in both practice sessions on a sunny day at Silverstone, but Vettel hoped the cooler conditions anticipated would work in Ferrari’s favour.
“I think the track should be in a different state, it should cool down, so we’ll see if that really happens,” Vettel added. “I hope that we come up with something. I think on my side, a lot of it will calm down naturally overnight, and we’ll have a better day tomorrow.”
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Hamilton explains "difficult day" amid balance issues
Next article Red Bull ‘hooked up’ despite Albon’s 20G shunt
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Luke Smith
1998 Belgian GP: When the Schumachers went to war
Formula 1
Formula 1 Jul 22, 2025
1998 Belgian GP: When the Schumachers went to war
The race that transformed perceptions of Red Bull
Formula 1
Formula 1 Apr 19, 2023
The race that transformed perceptions of Red Bull
Hamilton in the process of selecting Brad Pitt’s co-star for F1 movie
Formula 1
Formula 1 Feb 18, 2023
Hamilton in the process of selecting Brad Pitt’s co-star for F1 movie
More from
Sebastian Vettel
Why Daniel Ricciardo would consider a comeback at Le Mans
WEC
WEC 15 d
Why Daniel Ricciardo would consider a comeback at Le Mans
Sebastian Vettel reveals why BMW didn't want him – but Red Bull did
Formula 1
Formula 1 15 d
Sebastian Vettel reveals why BMW didn't want him – but Red Bull did
More from
Ferrari
Max Verstappen on Ferrari clashes: "I would never sign two number-one drivers"
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
1 d
Max Verstappen on Ferrari clashes: "I would never sign two number-one drivers"
Latest news
TV ratings released for NASCAR Cup season finale
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
4 h
TV ratings released for NASCAR Cup season finale
Chase Elliott's car chief leaves Hendrick for NASCAR Truck crew chief role
NASCAR Truck
NSTR NASCAR Truck
Homestead
5 h
Chase Elliott's car chief leaves Hendrick for NASCAR Truck crew chief role
“I was getting beat up” – How Daniel Ricciardo burned out on ‘humiliating’ F1 return
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1 9 h
“I was getting beat up” – How Daniel Ricciardo burned out on ‘humiliating’ F1 return
Feature
Discover prime content
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
Formula 1
By Kevin Turner
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe