‘It’s going to be hard for them’ - Are Ferrari stuck with this problem for 2023?

Ferrari have struggled in 2023 for race pace, often slipping back after qualifying well.

The Scuderia have scored just one podium in the opening seven races, leaving them fourth overall in the constructors’ championship.

Speaking on the F1 Nation Podcast, Clarkson believes it’s not something Ferrari will be able to solve quickly given that they had tyre wear issues last year as well.

“It’s the age-old problem, it’s a really good car over one lap, as proven by Carlos Sainz, he lines up on the front row alongside Max Verstappen,” he said.

“The moment you go racing, it’s tyre deg and it drops backwards. Just the extent of their problems was proven by Charles Leclerc, who started from the pit lane, on the hard tyre. 

“There was some speculation about how much of that race was he going to do on that tyre. Was he going to try and one-stop it? Yet on Lap 17 they pull him in because the car is not performing on the hard tyre, let alone the medium or the soft. 

“Even with the upgrades that they brought to Barcelona, and it was a substantial upgrade - they’ve gone towards the Aston Martin sidepods - it’s still not a great race car. 

“So it’s going to be hard for them until they sort that out. Fred Vasseur has already said that they are not going to do a B-spec car or something verging on that, they are just going to stick with what they’ve got.”

Given how easy overtaking is at this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix with the long straights, Clarkson is predicting a difficult race for Ferrari.

“That makes me think they are going to have the same problem they’ve had for the last 18 months for the remainder of the year,” he added.

“Yes it’s going to be quick and at some tracks, maybe Hungary, where it’s difficult to overtake, we could see them getting a good result. 

“But I think in Canada this weekend, where it’s really easy to overtake, it’s going to be another difficult weekend for Ferrari.”