The Ferrari team under Fred Vasseur appears to be the 2023 Formula One paddock’s headless chicken. While there were problems evident under the leadership of Mattia Binotto, the Scuderia was at least the best of the rest – claiming pole positions and race wins.

Now the once great red team are floundering like never in recent memory. In Canada only Carlos Sainz made it into final qualifying and then to finish just P8.

 

 

Ferrari sack team strategist

Then next time in Austria, the Ferrari cars qualified second and third for the Grand Prix, with Leclerc making the second step on the podium on Sunday.

At this weekend’s British Grand Prix the team appeared to be in chaos once again. While claiming respectable starting positions ahead of Aston Martin and Mercedes the team conspired to trail home with both cars in the lowest points scoring positions.

It appears despite Ferrari sacking last years team strategist Inaki Rueda and replacing him with Ravin Jain who now sits in the pressure seat on the exit wall, little has changed for the team.

George Russell started on the soft compound tyre which a number of teams expected to last fewer than 15 laps. Yet by lap 18 the Mercedes driver was still going strong and closing down the Ferrari ahead of him.

 

 

Crazy Scuderia race strategy

Then in a bizarre twist Ferrari switched Charles Leclerc from the medium onto the hard tyre while Russell pushed ahead. The Mercedes driver completed was still going strong and closing down the Ferrari of Sainz on lap 26 when the Spaniard was called in for fresh rubber.

Meanwhile the Leclerc had struggled on the hard tyre for the last 8 laps yet incredibly Ferrari also switched Sainz onto the hard compound tyre.

When the safety car was deployed, Leclerc managed to get a free pit stop and get rid of his hard tyres for another set of mediums. 

However, the result of Ferrari’s tactical decisions not to use the soft tyre saw their drivers lose positions during the race and finish just north and tenth scoring a mere three points.

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Ferrari qualifying cock-up revealed

Ferrari now sit in fourth place some 254 points behind Red Bull Racing and 24 points behind third place Aston Martin.

With each passing race weekend, the internal divisions within the Ferrari team become more anymore visible. During qualifying at Silverstone the team failed to organise its two drivers properly in terms of the pre-ordained track position.

F1 teams usually have a pre-agreed order in which the cars leave the pits for the track in qualifying and from weekend to weekend they switch which oe takes priority.

However, with Carlos Sainz in greater danger of failing to make the cut for final qualifying he left the garage ahead of his team mate who should have had priority.

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Sainz at risk of missing the cut

The team insisted the cars swap positions as they exited the pit lane but Sainz was now unhappy because this was not the optimum way for him to manage an out lap.

“What you asked me to do there is a bit unfair, it made me lose the temperature of the tyres. Plus I’m more at risk. I’m fourth, he’s third,” said the Spaniard.

Sainz then overtook his team mate towards the end of the warm up lap despite the team orders to the contrary. With both cars making it through, Ferrari breathed a collective sigh of relief and alls well that ends well.

Yet Leclerc was prepared to air the team’s dirty linen later.

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Leclerc understands Sainz’s frustrations

“What happened in the pitlane was expected, because we always try to get the cars out at the same time, to then manage them in the better way,” Leclerc explained after the session.

“Then on the track we found ourselves a bit tight on times and it was difficult to understand if we would be able to start the lap before the checkered flag.

“Carlos decided to overtake, which is not ideal and we will discuss it. But still, this action had no influence on qualifying and it’s not a problem.

Sainz was concerned he was not going to make the line for his last push lap before the chewuered flag fell on th session, yet his team radio was silent on the matter.

 

 

Leclerc accuses team: “totally useless”

“Of course, I understand that with the adrenaline in the car you don’t know if you’re going to make it, but his radio team was totally useless.”

In recent weeks Charles Leclerc is becoming increasingly vocal about the mistakes his team are making at Grand Prix weekends.

In Austria the previous week, the team failed to manage his Q2 programme effectively and the Monegasque driver was knocked out and started the race in P11.

When discovering he was outside the top ten Charles screamed over pit radio, “COME ON!!” at the team.

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Scuderia drivers “at odds” with team

Ex-F1 driver Ralph Schumacher believes there Ferrari drivers are clearly at odds with the rest of the team for a variety of reasons.

“I also don’t like the radio communication at Ferrari, since Sainz and Leclerc are yelling quite often. It gives the impression that drivers and engineers are at odds with each other. Ferrari should change that,” the German observed.

Following the debacle during Austrian qualifying, Fred Vasseur rebuked Leclerc for criticising the Ferrari team in public suggesting the Monegasque driver “put himself in our shoes.”

 

 

Ferraro boss criticises Leclerc

“But it is true that the picture you have 10 seconds after quali is not always the best one,” the Ferrari boss added.

However “the picture” Charles Leclerc had was he and his Ferrari car were outside the top ten starting positions on the grid and for a team with the Scuderia’s resources, it is clearly unacceptable.

Charles describing the communication from the Ferrari pit wall as “totally useless” is another shot fired in the ever intensifying civil war that is emerging in Maranello.

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What. A. Battle!! ⚔️#BritishGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/ulH1s2XP9N

— Formula 1 (@F1) July 9, 2023