Ferrari Formula 1 driver Sebastian Vettel says he has “run out of answers” regarding his sudden lack of pace with the SF1000 at Silverstone, after struggling in qualifying for the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix.
Amid the Scuderia’s switch to a lower-downforce set-up for the two Silverstone weekends, Vettel suddenly found himself cut badly adrift of Charles Leclerc, who had a clear edge over his four-time world champion team-mate through the British Grand Prix and looks to have retained it in the follow-up weekend.
“We tried lots of things since last week, but it doesn’t really make a difference. We are pretty much stuck” :: Sebastian Vettel
Leclerc, on the podium in the British GP while Vettel finished 10th, led the German in all three practice sessions this weekend and qualified comfortably ahead in eighth.
Despite this, Vettel told his team he felt he got all he could out of the car after placing 12th in Saturday qualifying, which will become 11th on the grid thanks to Esteban Ocon’s penalty.
“I tried everything I had. I was reasonably happy with the laps,” Vettel said.
“The car, we tried lots of things since last week, but it doesn’t really make a difference.
“I think we are pretty much stuck. Try to reset and try again tomorrow, that’s all I can do at the moment.”
Vettel also described the response of the car to the changes as “very different to usual”, and when asked to elaborate said: “I don’t know. I’ve run out of answers.”
The four-time champion is unlikely to get much of a reprieve on Sunday, with Leclerc in the currently-faster Ferrari admitting that the switch to softer tyres compared to the British GP spelled trouble for the Scuderia on race day.
“Expect us to struggle tomorrow,” Leclerc told Sky. “Seeing our weakness is to manage the tyres, and seeing the degradation we’ve had this weekend with this softer compound, I think it’s going to be difficult.”
THE RACE SAYS
Scott Mitchell
Vettel’s struggles, including a desperate switch to soft tyres to try to make Q3, are painful to see.
But given Ferrari’s tricky time in the midfield and the competitive nature of that part of the grid it’s perhaps not as surprising as it seems.
Silverstone wasn’t a good venue for Vettel last season as he likes a stable car with a compliant rear and it’s fair to say neither last year’s Ferrari or even this year’s are the strongest in that regard.
It’s likely that the truth lies somewhere between ‘Ferrari is screwing Vettel over’ and ‘Vettel’s lost his mojo’
So, this is a track and car combination that’s probably going to get less out of Vettel than others. And while he says that he feels he’s hitting a wall, that the car’s feeling better than last year, there’s just nothing more to come from it – could it be that he’s just not comfortable enough to take it to Leclerc’s level?
The simple way of viewing it is that if Vettel can’t live with the Ferrari right on the limit, where Leclerc’s able to take it, then he has to dial it back.
This will then make the car feel better, Vettel feels like it’s as fast as the car can go without losing control, and thinks he’s hit the limit of performance.
Now, that might be completely wide of the mark. Maybe there is a fundamental problem with Vettel’s car that Ferrari’s yet to uncover. It could be that Vettel is starting to hint at that.
One could argue it’s a convenient situation for Ferrari that the four-time world champion it is binning off is having a huge struggle. That is an easy and tempting stance to take.
But no team, even Ferrari, can afford to comprehensively hobble its second car. There’s too much expectation riding on it, even in a miserable season.
Ferrari’s preparations must improve (Vettel’s had two engine problems two Fridays in a row), that much is certain. It’s more likely that the truth lies somewhere between ‘Ferrari is screwing Vettel over’ and ‘Vettel’s lost his mojo’.
An off-the-boil team, tricky car and demotivated driver is not a good combination – is it really that hard to imagine that is what is creating a deficit of several tenths to the hungry, on-form, new favoured son that is Charles Leclerc?
