Ferrari team boss Vasseur sees old flaw: 'That difference was there again'

An important Grand Prix is on the cards for Ferrari. In Imola, on Italian soil, the team wants to shine. The race in Miami cannot be considered the perfect dress rehearsal: Carlos Sainz finished fifth after a time penalty, while Charles Leclerc did not go beyond spot seven.

A setback, especially considering the initial speed the Ferrari showed during qualifying. In the race itself, a familiar shortcoming was around the corner. "Once again today, the significant difference between the SF-23’s performance level in qualifying and the race was clear to see," team boss Fred Vasseur said in a press release from his team.

Time penalty for Sainz

During the race, the speed was lacking to seriously compete for a podium spot. The only time Sainz was really fast was at his pit stop. But then he was not allowed to, which earned him a time penalty for speeding in the pit lane. "Both Carlos and Charles found the car hard to drive and that is reflected in the result. Carlos was competitive in the first stint but then struggled quite a lot to run at a consistent pace after switching to the Hards, while Charles found it difficult on the Medium in the opening laps and only got into a good rhythm in the final stages."

The focus at Ferrari immediately after the race was already on the next race: "We will now be continuing to work flat out in Maranello on developing updates as well as on optimising the car package, with the aim of already getting more out of it at the next race in front of our tifosi in Imola," Vasseur concluded.