GP Opinion: Ferrari wins again, but falls short in Verstappen's reversal and rolls over

ITWAS IMPERATIVE TO WIN. And so it was. Ferrari desperately needed a win not only to regain confidence, but also to stay alive in a championship it was essaying to dominate. The scenario was bleak: the last victory had been in April, on the other side of the world, in Australia, and from then on, Maranello collected frustrations - most of them caused by its own mistakes, among reliability, communication, strategy, and operation failures. Meanwhile, rival Red Bull piled up victories and put Max Verstappen in a comfortable lead. Then, when the World Championship leader emerged slow on the Silverstone track, the tables seemed to turn for the Italians. There was an opportunity to make good use of the setback of his opponent. It was a chance for redemption and to catch their breath again in 2022. In fact, the team won, but the impression is that it was not enough. And this feeling is the result of the erratic behavior of the most famous team on the grid.

But before delving into the analysis of how Ferrari disturbs itself, it is important and honest to mention here that the red team has promoted important updates in its F1-75. These were solutions that made the car faster, more balanced, and kinder to the tires. Technically, the Italian model placed itself very close to the Taurus' performance. The English race would be tight anyway, but luck would smile on Mattia Binotto - he didn't make the most of it.

Carlos Sainz's pole, even if in adverse conditions, was a good sign. The only concern is that the Spaniard was only able to take advantage of it on the second start. But he did it with mastery and courage over the defending champion. A pity it didn't last long, since a small mistake in the sequence made him lose the lead. Verstappen took the lead, but soon he also had something to worry about. Damage to the car's floor took the Dutchman out of the race. And that is when the Ferrari drama began.

With both cars in front, Sainz ahead of Charles Leclerc, the radio of both cars echoed loudly. Faster and still sustaining damage to the front wing, the Monegasque wanted the lead of the race. The Spaniard, on the other hand, was stubborn. While Charles was cursing and going faster, the team was asking Carlos to increase his pace, which was not happening. A crazy and stammering conversation. The discussion took a long time to find an end, while Lewis Hamilton, third, was dangerously close to both of them, with a sequence of faster laps.

Here a first noise arises and it concerns Ferrari's race management: within how the championship plays out, with Charles best placed on the grid, it is understandable to understand that he would have some priority in terms of strategy, especially considering Verstappen's setback - perhaps it was the most rational thing to do, even though it is also reasonable to say that Leclerc himself could have put an end to the debate just by overtaking his teammate.

However, the fact is that Maranello hesitated to give any orders or even to let go, and this is a problem - having a minimum of control over your drivers is not too much to ask and anything goes when you are in such a tight championship race. The confusion still opened a window for Mercedes to dream higher - and it could have been any other opponent, including the Taurinos. Something that would certainly put the Italians in trouble.

The order ended up coming only after Sainz and Leclerc had changed tires, on a five lap gap between the two, and even then, the Monegasque was ahead, confirming that he really had the conditions to win. Hamilton had not yet stopped and was getting further away. When the seven-time champion went into the pits, he came back behind the Ferrari duo. The race seemed to be heading for a contest between Charles and Lewis. Charles had more than 4s ahead of his Spanish colleague, who had just over 2s ahead of the seven-times champion. So far, so good, everything still seemed under a certain control and it was possible to close the gap to Red Bull.

But Esteban Ocon's late retirement put Ferrari back in the spotlight. And once again, the decision was questioned. The Alpine Frenchman's stop forced the safety car into action. At this point, many people took the opportunity to change tires and come back with new compounds. Hamilton was one of them; Sergio Pérez was one of them, and this made all the difference in the race result. Only, the Italians surprised and called only Sainz - leaving leader Leclerc on the track.

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It was an inexplicable Ferrari vs. Simply, the team played against itself again and took away the Monegasque's chance to try for victory. Leclerc even talked on the radio about the pressure it would be to hold off his opponents with new tires. And so it was. With harder compounds used, Charles was overtaken by Sainz and became an easy prey, even though he made absurd defenses, especially on Hamilton. But it was impossible to at least secure the podium. The fourth place was his.

Leclerc is right to complain about the team. Despite the necessary victory in the British GP and Sainz's performance, the team leaves Silverstone with a glass half empty due to the fumbled decisions it made. In the end, the difference taken against Verstappen was small, only six points in a scenario that envisioned a win for the Monegasque or even a potential double. Once again, Ferrari rolled over for fear of taking risks. A double pit-stop would be costly, it is true, but it would be worth it by leaving everyone on equal footing, given the performance of the cars - the clash between Leclerc, Hamilton, and Pérez at the end is proof that Ferrari had performance and could face the opponents. Calling Charles out afterwards would also take him out of the lead under SC, but would give the rivals the opportunity to fight back.

Whichever way you want to contest this championship, with Leclerc or Sainz, or both, you have to know what you are doing, which side you are playing, or you will really succumb. And worse, lose to itself.

The 2022 Formula One season returns next week in Spielberg for the Austrian GP of July 8-10.