Carlos Sainz didn’t mince words after the British Grand Prix. Ferrari’s decision to revert to their Imola-spec car, originally aimed at taming the troublesome SF-24’s high-speed corner issues, has ended up putting the team behind in the Formula 1 development race.
Ferrari had hoped that their recent updates, including a revamped floor introduced in Barcelona, would push the SF-24 forward. Instead, the upgrades only worsened the car’s bouncing problems, making it difficult for both Sainz and teammate Charles Leclerc to perform at their best in Spain and Austria. The team decided to test different setups during the Friday practice sessions at Silverstone, but in the end, they reverted to the older Imola spec, which had proven more stable through high-speed sections like Silverstone’s Maggots and Becketts.
However, this decision wasn’t without significant consequences. Racing an older spec meant Ferrari left potential performance gains on the table, especially compared to rivals like Red Bull, Mercedes, and McLaren, all of whom have successfully upgraded their machines in recent months. Sainz finished fifth in the race, a whopping 47 seconds behind winner Lewis Hamilton and 35 seconds adrift of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri. “It is clearly not good enough,” Sainz admitted. “We have basically the same car as in Imola and since Imola everyone has upgraded. We have lost two or three months of performance gain in the wind tunnel.”
Sainz’s frustration was palpable as he recounted how the team missed out on development time. He emphasized the need to get back to basics. “Today was at least back-to-basics,” he reflected, adding that the car needs significant upgrades to be competitive again. Unlike Leclerc, who finished 14th after a poor strategy call in the mixed weather, Sainz made all the right moves but still found his car lacking the pace to keep up. “Honestly, all the calls were pretty much spot on… It was just a shame we were not faster,” he noted, underlining the car’s deficiency despite perfect strategy execution.
With two more races to go before the summer shutdown, Ferrari is in a difficult spot. They might have to keep tweaking their specifications depending on the track. Sainz is concerned that the car will be “undriveable” at the high-speed Spa circuit with the new floor but might manage better at Budapest’s slower Hungaroring. “We will bounce in Turns 4 and 11 [in Hungary], but until something better comes we may have to live with bouncing for a while,” Sainz explained. He remains optimistic, trusting that the team will make the right calls on a circuit-to-circuit basis while they work on a more solid package. “I trust the team will make the right calls circuit-to-circuit until a more solid package… arrives and then we will start thinking about battling the top three teams again.”
The road ahead for Ferrari is anything but smooth. As they grapple with the challenges of an underperforming car, the team must focus on developing a solid package that can compete with the top-tier teams. For now, Sainz and Ferrari fans will have to endure this bumpy ride, hopeful that the team can turn things around soon.
Source: Motorsport
