Last year’s runner-up to Red Bull has now slipped behind Aston Martin and Mercedes to fourth in the constructors’ championship ahead of this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix.
Unlike rivals who chose to bring major upgrade packages anyway to the unrepresentative Monaco lap following the cancellation of the Emilia Romagna GP, Ferrari instead opted to hold off its bodywork upgrades scheduled for Imola until the upcoming Barcelona event.
But by not delaying, Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was a representative second in Monaco while the revised Alpine ran to third in the hands of Esteban Ocon. Meanwhile, the Mercedes drivers were content with the performance of upgrades as they ran to a 4-5 finish.
Ferrari’s top finisher in the principality was home hero Charles Leclerc, who recorded sixth as a legacy of a three-place grid penalty for blocking Lando Norris in qualifying.
Speaking to select media, including Autosport, Vasseur said it “would be a mistake to compare approach” after competitors who pressed on with upgraded cars outscored Ferrari in Monaco.
But the newly-appointed team boss stressed that the factory was “pushing like hell” to bring forward updates to the SF-23 machine since the outfit was “not happy” with results.
He said: “We are pushing like hell at the factory to bring an update as quick as possible because we are not happy.
“I think the results we have today are not the target and we want to do better. We will continue to develop in any case.”
Source: Autosport