Ferrari’s pace seems to have vanished in the last couple of races. After the double podium in Monaco, many expected Charles Leclerc and the team to take the fight to Max Verstappen and Red Bull. However, the Italian outfit entered a slump and is struggling in Austria as well. Team Principal Frederic Vasseur now comes out to suggest that things may get worse for them in Sunday’s Grand Prix.
“The race will be different from the sprint race because of strategies and pit stops. But it is clear that the DRS train will play a big role”, explained Vasseur according to F1Maximaal.nl. On Saturday’s Sprint, Sainz was stuck in the DRS train with the Mercedes as the McLarens and Verstappen got away, never to be caught.
A tough Quali for @Charles_Leclerc but he’s in the mix to fight tomorrow #AustrianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/3FCdhKpKb1
— Scuderia Ferrari HP (@ScuderiaFerrari) June 29, 2024
With both Sainz and Leclerc starting the race behind a Mercedes, it’ll be difficult to catch Norris and Verstappen on the front row. The Mercedes looks like a faster car. And with the race being much longer than Sprint, the Silver Arrows can run away as well leaving Ferrari to finish in the lower points scoring positions.
Vasseur explained issues with the brakes overheating but that was for all the drivers. The Ferrari boss highlighted an issue with riding the kerbs and added, “The most annoying surprise of the weekend was that the car bounces, which also bothered the drivers a lot.”
Ferrari currently looks like the 4th best team in the pecking order. With McLaren’s Osar Piastri starting behind, it is expected to be a tough race for the Maranello-based outfit.
Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc’s brake issues made Ferrari “vulnerable”
The Austrian GP is held at the Red Bull ring which is 700 meters above sea level. Thinner air affects not only the downforce and engine but also the brakes. As a result, teams usually bring special cooling upgrades for this round. Ferrari had massive new louvers on the engine cover to aid with the heat. However, brakes seemed to be a concern.
“We had a good start and managed to get the DRS of Piastri but we had brake issues. We had to lift and coast, and that made me lose DRS to Piastri, and vulnerable to George”, explained Carlos Sainz according to Crash.net.
Running in the dirty air of another car doesn’t help with the temperatures either. At the Red Bull Ring, it is key to run closer to the car ahead to get the DRS and slipstream. If not, one loses loads of time on the three long straights.
Ferrari had multiple issues over the weekend such as the engine stall for Leclerc. Combine this with the braking issues and poor pace, and Ferrari is bound to have a subpar Austrian GP.
