Silverstone: Ferrari ‘flushed out’ by the Sprint weekend

The format ruined the surprise “On a Sprint weekend the preparation work in Maranello is even more important and I would like to thank everyone who has worked hard in preparation for this weekend.” Thus Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur underlined the excellent work done ‘at home’ to prepare for the Silverstone weekend. Ferrari was the fastest in free practice on Friday and Lewis Hamilton confirmed himself in Sprint Qualifying, a session in which he would have obtained pole position with a large margin if an error had not occurred in the final S. The Scuderia from Maranello caught everyone off guard, but having to reveal their cards already on Friday in the Sprint Qualifying ‘ruined’ what would have been a real surprise the following day. As our Federico Albano underlined in his analysis “It almost makes you think that the Sprint format has in some way penalized the redhead who was forced to reveal her cards, leaving time for her opponents to follow her example”. There is another important passage that we have highlighted and which is linked to what seemed like an illogical choice. George Russell on Thursday revealed that five out of 11 teams voted against the proposal to also open the wings from Turn 1 to Turn 3. Russell said Mercedes were in favor of this option even though on paper it was a decision that would backfire. Having a proportionately few areas where active aerodynamics can be used has allowed the Maranello team to minimize the aerodynamics to minimize battery consumption and have it available in the most important areas. Ferrari had done their homework perfectly, but there was a ‘pre-call’ that allowed their opponents to align.

Automobile Magazine – Formula1 English, News

2026-07-05 06:00:00