Ferrari Formula 1 boss Frederic Vasseur is convinced that grid position dictated the result at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix and cost the side a chance at the victory.
The marque introduced its much-anticipated upgrades at Imola and began the weekend on a promising note with the quickest time in the opening two practice hours.
However, Ferrari qualified behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and the two McLaren drivers, as both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz rued lost ground in the first sector.
Although Oscar Piastri’s grid drop elevated the two scarlet cars up one place each and Leclerc mounted a charge on Lando Norris, he was unable to complete a pass.
While Vasseur believes that Ferrari made the intended progress with its latest developments, the Frenchman determined that one-lap struggles denied a possible win.
“Overall, it’s a kind of mixed feeling for me, because I think that we did a step forward. McLaren did probably the same as us,” Vasseur said.
“We compensated, I think, partly the delta with Red Bull, and we are not far away.
“Now I’m a bit frustrated, because I think that if we do 1-2 in quali, we do 1-2 in the race today. If we miss something, it was yesterday in quali and not today in the race.”
Leclerc had emerged as the quickest driver across the field in the nascent stages of the second stint, but a mistake at Variante Alta alleviated the pressure on Norris.
The Monegasque driver would end up seven seconds behind the leading two, but Vasseur asserts that became a consequence of the earlier attack he had sustained.
Asked to describe the reasons for Ferrari’s fluctuating pace throughout the race, Vasseur answered: “I think it was the same for everybody.
“When you push a little bit more, everybody has a reserve of pace.
“And when you push more, you over-heat the tyres, and then you suffer a couple of laps, and it’s coming back, and it was the same for everybody.
“But I think it was quite impossible to overtake, at least for the top four or five. It means that you could try to put a little bit more pressure on the guy in front of you.”
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