Martin Brundle spots something ’embarrassing’ for Carlos Sainz at British Grand Prix

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Ferrari endured yet another difficult day in qualifying for the British Grand Prix on Saturday. Charles Leclerc suffered a shock Q2 exit, while Carlos Sainz could only manage seventh on the grid.

The Scuderia have been struggling ever since Leclerc won the Monaco GP at the end of May – on a day where Sainz finished third. They suffered a disastrous weekend in Montreal with a double DNF and haven’t returned to their former heights since.

Mercedes appeared to have made a breakthrough with their W15, relegating Ferrari to fourth in the pecking order. This was evident in Spain as McLaren’s Lando Norris fought Red Bull’s Max Verstappen for the win and the Silver Arrows duo jostled for the final podium spot.

Sainz managed to score a podium in Austria, but that was only after Norris and Verstappen collided late on. He had been on course to finish fifth, while Leclerc wasn’t able to get back into the points after a first-lap incident and an early pit stop.

For the Spaniard, P7 at Silverstone represented the joint-second worst qualifying result of the season after Montreal (tied with China). Ferrari haven’t seen the expected benefit of the upgrades they’ve introduced in the last couple of months.

In fact, both drivers are now reporting bouncing, which is clearly costing them lap time. It’s unclear how long it will take Fred Vasseur’s squad to iron out the gremlins.

Martin Brundle says Carlos Sainz and Ferrari were humiliated by Nico Hulkenberg

To make matters worse for Ferrari, they weren’t just behind the top three teams here. Sainz was also beaten by the Haas of Nico Hulkenberg.

Sky Sports F1’s Martin Brundle recently called Hulkenberg a ‘great qualifier’, but that doesn’t make this result any less ’embarrassing’. After all, Haas are one of the Italian giants’ customer teams and can’t even compare in terms of scale.

Brundle feels this was particularly damning for Ferrari at a circuit like Silverstone. It will be scant consolation for Sainz that he outqualified his teammate for the second race in a row.

“That’s embarrassing for Ferrari,” the pundit said during Sky’s qualifying coverage. “They’ve got the same power unit and probably about a thousand less people working in the team.

“That is quite something for the tiny Haas team with a Ferrari power unit and transmission – outperforming the works team around a circuit where you need the car underneath you.”

Sainz’s 1:25.509 was nearly seven-tenths slower than the pole time set by George Russell. It was also three-tenths down adrift of what Verstappen managed in a Red Bull that had sustained floor damage in Q1.

Adrian Newey was ‘on his way’ to Ferrari rivals a few weeks ago

Ferrari’s newfound aerodynamic woes might make them even more determined to sign Adrian Newey. The legendary designer is available after resigning from his post at Red Bull, and expects to make a decision in the autumn.

He’s already held extensive talks with Ferrari, who are ready to negotiate the ‘final details’ of a contract. However, Aston Martin are also furiously pursuing the 65-year-old, having recently invited him on a tour of their factory.

While it now looks like a two-horse race, Guenther Steiner says there was a point where both teams looked set to miss out. He thought Newey was ‘on his way’ back to Williams, where he’d enjoyed so much success in the 1990s.

That move didn’t materialise, and now Ferrari will hope the allure of working alongside Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton at the sport’s most iconic team proves too strong. Aston will counter with an exciting project of their own, bankrolled by billionaire Lawrence Stroll and recently boosted by the signing of ex-Mercedes engine guru Andy Cowell.