Team Talk - Second Sunday at Silverstone

Ferrari

Charles Leclerc (MON) Ferrari on the grid.
Charles Leclerc
“Today feels like a victory, which is not something we like to say when we finish fourth. If you would have told me this morning that I could finish the race in my starting position in 8th, I would have signed immediately.

"In terms of strategy, the team had some concerns about the one-stop approach, looking at what happened to some of the tyres last week. But sometimes, as a driver, you feel something in the car that you can’t see in the data. So I pushed to go for one stop because I believed I could make it work. I am glad that we went for it and that it worked out well.

"Last year, I knew that my weakest point was tyre management. I worked very hard to improve there, and to see the result on track is a huge satisfaction for me.

"I am interested in analysing the data from today and understanding where we found our pace. I was quite impressed and it was a positive surprise. In tough times like these, we have to take any opportunity we can get, and we did that today, so I am very happy with the result.”

Sebastian Vettel
"Today I tried my best. Unfortunately I had a spin in turn 1 and I’m not sure what happened there. I thought I got hit, but actually it was a kerb, and I suddenly lost the car. However, I also feel we could have done a better job on the strategy. After my first stop I was in traffic and for this reason we had to bring forward the second stop. In the end I had to drive on the Medium tyres for 20 laps, which I feel was not the best choice we could have made today. Of course the race was difficult overall and it’s a pity we couldn’t get back to where we wanted to be."

Mattia Binotto, Team Principal
"It was definitely a better day than yesterday. On the Hard tyre in the race, we rediscovered a level of performance that at least allowed us to stay ahead of our current rivals. Given the positions of our drivers at the end of the first lap – Charles tenth and Sebastian last – we tried to make the best strategy choices to bring home as many points as possible for the team. After that we made up six places with Charles and eight with Sebastian, so I don’t think we could have done better in a race in which there were hardly any retirements or safety car periods. Charles finished in the same excellent position as last weekend and Sebastian’s position was the result of his first lap incident. We must do all we can to ensure that he too can make the most of his talent and use all the car’s potential.

"Now we face another test at the very demanding Montmelo track, where we had struggled during winter testing. The aim is still the same: to improve our performance both in qualifying and the race to bring home as many points as possible with both drivers."