Frederic Vasseur says Ferrari‘s pace is too inconsistent as the team endured a difficult Miami Grand Prix.
Carlos Sainz started third and was on podium contention before a five-second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane, and poor tyre wear on the C2 hard compound saw him drop to fifth.
Charles Leclerc‘s crash in Q3 meant he began the Miami GP from seventh and spent most of the race battling with Haas‘ Kevin Magnussen, before finishing where he started.
“We are far too inconsistent from one lap to the other and we have to understand why,” Vasseur told the media.
“In qualifying, I think the pace was decent but we are not able to put everything together.
“And in the race it’s quite similar that the first stint went pretty well for Carlos but we lost 25 seconds on one side of the garage and we lost 25 seconds in the final stint.”
Opposite races for Sainz and Leclerc
The inconsistency can be highlighted in the opening stint as Sainz was hot on the gearbox of compatriot Fernando Alonso for third place in the opening exchanges of the race, whilst Leclerc struggled to overtake Magnussen.
Vasseur, who took over Mattia Binotto over the winter, does not feel the Ferrari is simply stronger in qualifying than the race.
“It’s not just the race, because at some stages of the race we were okay-ish and again the first stint on the medium for Carlos, he lost five seconds in 18 laps [to race leader Sergio Perez] and I think at this of the race was okay for us.”
“For Charles, it was the opposite. He was in good shape at some stages of the second stint because he was talking much more in the first part of the race.
“But we really need to focus attention on this inconsistency because that is key for us.”
