Where has Ferrari’s speed gone?
Austrian Grand Prix – Ferrari’s shocking lack of pace in qualifying came as a surprise to many on Saturday, but not when you look at the figures…
The big shock after qualifying at the Red Bull Ring on Saturday was the surprising lack of pace from Ferrari. While they’ve been downplaying their competitiveness ever since pre-season testing, there was a sense that there was a bit of sandbagging going on and, once things got serious in qualifying, things wouldn’t be so bad.
Practice didn’t indicate a whole lot as, up until last year, Ferrari would stay pretty quiet through Friday and Saturday morning before turning things up during qualifying. However, on this occasion, they weren’t kidding. Sebastian Vettel failed to get through into Q3 while Charles Leclerc barely scraped in before ending up a pretty discouraged P7 at the end of the qualifying hour.
Ferrari’s team boss Mattia Binotto is pointing the finger squarely at the aerodynamics being lacking, and that the team will have an entirely new aerodynamic package ready to go for the Hungarian Grand Prix. But, without the car being an absolutely calamitous design, it appears engine power is a far more likely culprit for Ferrari’s sudden drop in pace.
