Leclerc expecting Ferrari to struggle in race trim

©Ferrari

Based on Friday's race simulations, Charles Leclerc believes Ferrari will be hard pressed to challenge Mercedes at Silverstone this weekend.

Leclerc concluded his FP2 session just 0.197s behind Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas, the fastest man on Friday.

However, during the Scuderia's longer runs on Pirelli's medium compound, the deficit to the Silver Arrows squad was greater, mitigating Leclerc's hopes of giving Mercedes a run for its money on Sunday.

"It was quite a difficult day for us," Leclerc admitted.

"We tested quite a lot of things. I feel we have been struggling quite a lot on the race pace today.

"Qualy pace was not so bad but I feel Mercedes have probably quite a lot more to come. So it's going to be very difficult, and still a lot of work to do."

Opening days leaves Hamilton feeling he'll be 'in the fight'

Despite Ferrari's strong showing in Austria, where Leclerc was beaten to the checkered flag by Red Bull's Max Verstappen after both teams trounced Mercedes, Leclerc had little doubt about the German outfit's ability to recoup its dominance at Silverstone.

"To be honest, on my side, I expected Mercedes would be the team to beat this weekend, and I think they confirmed that they are the team to beat this weekend, very very quick during the race pace [runs]."

Scuderia boss Mattia Binotto shed some light on the issues impacting Ferrari's SF90 at the Northamptonshire circuit.

"We had very high wear on the front tyres, front left, which somehow is already affecting the single qualy lap, because if you look, we are quite strong on the first and second sector but somehow weak on the last one, some extra understeers," Binotto explained.

"I think we will be focused on this overnight, try to address the front wear, and by the times that the car will be balanced I think we will get a better judgment of our overall performance at Silverstone."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.