General
Herbert analyses Ferrari's strengths: "Ferrari have an extra edge"
- Rafael Diaz Lehmann
The first two practice sessions of the French Grand Prix weekend have revealed Ferrari's seemingly large pace advantage over the rest of the field in Paul Ricard. Sky Sport's Johnny Herbert has his theories as to why.
"They [Ferrari] have a good balanced car, but also very soft on its tyres. When you have that the deg on this circuit, which is high, is probably where Ferrari will gain that little bit more," The pundit commented.
Ferrari won last time out in Austria in a thrilling battle where Charles Leclerc had to overtake Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen three times to claim the victory. While this sounds close on paper, the pace advantage of the Scuderia was evident and Verstappen just couldn't manage to hold on to his tyres. This certainly gives Herbert's musings some weight.
"The Ferrari has a soft rotation. It has a softer way of loading up the tyre."
Stronger drivers?
"At the start of the season, Sainz was struggling. But it has clicked for him and now he is in a much happier place. We see Charles has the ability to have it every time. Sainz has improved and that's massively important for Ferrari," Herbert finishes with.
Do Ferrari now have the pairing to take it to Red Bull week-in-week-out?