Tyre issues Ferrari a misconception? 'We were racing against a faster car'

Ferrari often seemed to suffer from tyre degradation more than Red Bull Racing during the 2022 Formula 1 season, but the team itself dismisses that as a "misconception". According to senior performance engineer Jock Clear, the Italian racing stable was simply not fast enough in the second half of the season.

Clear disagrees with the suggestion that Ferrari suffered more from tyre degradation than rival teams. Indeed, he believes the F1-75 actually outperformed Red Bull in terms of tyre management. The Briton says this in conversation with Autosport.com.

According to the engineer, the cause lies elsewhere. He reasons that Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were forced to push harder because of the difference in pace with Red Bull's RB18, resulting in more degradation. "Red Bull pulled out a little bit of a two-tenth gap, which meant that we weren't quite able to nail the pole positions," Clear said. "And, of course, then you're trying to race a car that's actually quicker than you."

According to Clear, this manifested itself in more tyre degradation, but the degradation in itself is not a major problem for the Italian race stable. In fact, the engineer feels that Ferrari has outperformed Red Bull in that area over the course of the year and thinks the speed difference was the reason for the higher relegation.