Frederic Vasseur is still adamant that Ferrari have made gains after a disappointing result in the Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Charles Leclerc did put the scarlet red machine second in qualifying but his grid penalty saw him drop to 12th and he got no higher than seventh by the chequered flag. Carlos Sainz, meanwhile, had little pace all weekend in comparison but finished sixth as a result of his loftier starting position.
Ferrari were unfortunate with the timing of the safety car which saw Mercedes profit with Lewis Hamilton, but they were no match for the Silver Arrows once the race restarted.
“I’m not thinking about myself,” Vasseur told the media. “The situation that we have to think about the team and how do we improve the situation.
“I think we have to stick with the car, it’s nothing that I think is going wrong. We made some good improvements from Bahrain and we have got to be together with the details.
“I think the issues today we more about the pace that we had.”
Constant development
It’s clear that nobody has got an answer for Red Bull at this point of the season after a second consecutive one-two finish, albeit with Sergio Perez taking victory this time, and Ferrari will be thoroughly disappointed as a result.
They were the closest challengers to the Milton Keynes-based outfit last season but became the masters of their own downfall in more ways than one, which opened the door for Max Verstappen to take the title with ease.
“First, you always need to consider the car,” Vasseur continued. “We develop the car and we don’t stop even when we start racing.
“But every single team continues to do that, and I don’t want to keep this weekend’s result out of sight.
“We want to keep in mind to do a proper analysis because right now I don’t know what the issue is today.”