Carlos Sainz says Ferrari's performance is still too dependent on the wind and track conditions, a well-known weakness that the team needs to iron out as it is leaving the Scuderia "exposed" at certain venues.
Sainz and teammate Charles Leclerc were running among the top six in the first part of the British Grand Prix. But hampered by their car's lack of pace the pair eventually regressed to finish respectively P9 and P8.
Sainz said his struggles were rooted mainly in the SF-23's lack of traction, which the hard tyre used in his second stint only made worse.
"Very windy, very tricky car to drive again, very difficult to be consistent in these conditions… We were certainly struggling a lot on traction in all the tailwind," the Spaniard explained.
"We couldn't get on the power and also a harder tyre made the fighting and everything very tricky.
Read also:
"We know it's our weakness, we know where it is. We see it in the wind tunnel, we see it in our car, we see it on the driving, on the feeling. So, it's just a matter of developing.
"At least we've done some progress still. But again, Silverstone has put us back in a position where we know we need to improve the car."
Sainz fears that Ferrari's main weakness will continue to leave the Italian outfit "exposed" on certain tracks, even despite the team's recent upgrades which aimed to reduce the SF-23's lack of consistency.
"It's not a great thing for us because we are very dependent on the wind and the track conditions and on the track temperature for our own performance, which will leave us a bit exposed to some weekends," he said.
"Clearly the tyre [degradation], the tyre energies, the wind sensitivities, the unpredictability of the car, one lap I was 0.3s or 0.4s quicker than others just because of a gust of wind, so we still need to focus on that."
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
Alpine’s remarkable double podium at the São Paulo Grand Prix with Esteban Ocon and Pierre…
Alexander Albon, Williams (Did Not Start): 5.5/10 Alex Albon is definitely going through something of…
Jos Verstappen wasted no time after his son spectacular win at the São Paulo Grand…
Charles Leclerc's weekend in Sao Paulo was unfortunately a stark contrast to Ferrari's recent triumphs…
Twelve years ago on this day, Kimi Raikkonen took a popular win at the 2012…
The Mercedes team was hit with a fine by the FIA after Sunday’s Sao Paulo…