Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur hinted that it perhaps forgot to think about the teams behind in the Austrian Grand Prix, as its challenge to Mercedes was a non-starter in Styria.
The Scuderia had reason to be cautiously optimistic heading into the race, with Charles Leclerc on the front row alongside polesitter George Russell, with Lewis Hamilton third.
But Leclerc’s race descended into mediocrity and finished eighth behind both McLarens, with Hamilton fifth after a risky three-stop strategy backfired in his pursuit of the Mercedes pair.
As a result, Russell converted his pole position into victory with Andrea Kimi Antonelli third, as Max Verstappen became their chief rival, the Dutchman utilising a revitalised Red Bull package to finish second, less than two seconds off the Briton at the flag.
After Hamilton’s resurgent win in Barcelona, the Maranello-based squad would have a sense of extra confidence heading into Austria, especially with its upgrades package – including its first ADUO-assisted engine – providing a potential boost.
But the challenge fell away, and Vasseur was left to reflect that the team’s preparation was not up to scratch.
“It was a tough weekend, especially coming after Barcelona,” the Frenchman said. “I don’t think we got the weekend off on the right foot on Friday, as we struggled a lot in FP1 and FP2 and weren’t able to complete proper long runs in representative conditions.
“In the end, we managed to recover some performance over a single lap in qualifying, with P2 and P3, which was a good result. But we probably didn’t prepare the race as well as we should have.”
‘Too focused on Mercedes’
In Barcelona, Hamilton and the team came together to usurp the Silver Arrows, signalling the potential start of a genuine fightback in the championship race.
But the SF-26 looked a long way away in the race, and it was left fighting for position with the McLarens, which, by its own admission, has not produced a car to fight at the very front, despite its Mercedes PU.
And Vasseur conceded that perhaps it was too preoccupied with the Brackley-based squad after finding itself between its cars on the grid.
“Looking back, we were probably too focused on Mercedes today,” he pondered.
“We pushed too hard in the opening laps with both cars and then perhaps reacted too aggressively with the strategy, trying to stay with them when, realistically, that wasn’t our race today.
“We will learn from this, refocus on ourselves and immediately turn our attention to the British Grand Prix next week.”
The long straights of Silverstone – host of this weekend’s British Grand Prix – will be an area where there could still be an Achilles’ heel shown, despite the new engine.
But the SF-26’s knack of tackling fast corners well could see a semblance of balance between the positives and negatives that may edge towards a better result on Hamilton’s home turf.
READ MORE – Lewis Hamilton hands Ferrari ‘reality check’ warning after Austrian disappointment
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