How Leclerc blew another wet weather tyre call while Sainz nailed it

The British Grand Prix was the latest in a series of rain-affected events where one Ferrari driver called the conditions correctly and the other blew it

Charles Leclerc was left to count the cost of a hasty switch to intermediate tyres when rain began to fall at Silverstone.

His team mate Carlos Sainz Jnr, meanwhile not only avoided that mistake but chose arguably the perfect lap to switch to intermediates, taking around two seconds out of eventual winner Lewis Hamilton as a result.

This is the latest in a series of costly errors Leclerc and his race engineer have made in unpredictable wet weather conditions. It is the first since Bryan Bozzi replaced Xavier Marcos Padros as the voice in Leclerc’s ear.

In Sochi three years ago Leclerc, having made up 15 places to run fourth when rain arrived, committed the same error as race leader Lando Norris by staying out on slicks tyres too long when rain arrived. That duff call left him out of the points at the end of the race, while Sainz came in for intermediates earlier and bagged a podium finish as a result.

The following year Leclerc threw away a potential win in Monaco with an unnecessary tyre change on a slowly drying track. Ferrari wanted both drivers to replace their worn intermediate tyres with fresh sets, but Sainz overruled them and remained on-track until the conditions were dry enough for slicks, moving him ahead of his team mate. Leclerc’s plight worsened when he lost more time pitting behind Sainz later in the race, but the initial call had already set him on course to lose victory.

Similar calls have caught Leclerc out in qualifying sessions. Later in 2022, as rain threatened at Interlagos during Q3, the Ferrari drivers again opted for different tyres. Leclerc was the only driver in the session to head out on intermediates and missed his opportunity to set a time on slicks when the track was dry enough. A similar situation occured during Q2 in Canada last year.

At Silverstone last weekend the difference between the information the Ferrari drivers received was stark. Sainz was given detailed guidance on the levels of rain at different parts of the circuit, while Leclerc’s information was less frequent and detailed. This led him to another costly tyre choice error.