Fred Vasseur has expressed his bitter disappointment at depriving the team's fans of what he felt would have been a "magic" moment in Sunday's Italian Grand Prix.
Charles Leclerc was frustratingly forced to settle for fourth at the end of the 53-lap race at Monza, finishing just 4.273s behind the McLaren of Oscar Piastri in third. Team-mate Lewis Hamilton was sixth after starting from 10th.
It was Leclerc's seventh race for the Scuderia at their hallowed home, and the third occasion he has now missed out on a top-three finish after twice previously claiming a victory, alongside twice finishing a runner-up.
It meant Leclerc missed out on the now customary spectacular scenes that accompany all podium ceremonies at Monza, as thousands of fans flooded onto the start-finish straight to witness the top-three celebration, spearheaded by Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
The Monégasque suffered early on in the race as he failed to get his tyres in the right temperature window before they then went on to overheat. Ultimately, he insisted that a podium was not possible.
As to whether he felt a podium was on the cards but for the early tyre issues, speaking to the media, including RacingNews365, Vasseur said: "It's very difficult to imagine what would have been the race without this.
"It's true that in the fight at the beginning, although he was able to overtake one or two times, we were not in a good place, and we massively overheated the tyres.
"We then paid the price the next five, six laps, when Russell was able to follow and the others [ahead] flew. It is like it is. We have to think about what could have been different on the opening lap."
Although Leclerc performed admirably in the second stint on the medium tyres, and finished as close as he has done all season to a McLaren, it was not to be for him, Ferrari, and the Tifosi.
"Overall, I'm disappointed to not be able to bring a podium to the Tifosi because when you see the pit lane, and the start-finish line at the podium, it would have been magic, and they would have deserved it," remarked the Frenchman.
Trying to find the positive, Vasseur added: "We were close to the McLaren, probably the smallest gap of the season.
"It's just that Max was outstanding, from quali, from the first lap to the last lap, he was there, he was flying, and much faster than us.
"Overall, compared to Mercedes and McLaren, we did our job, but not enough."
Also interesting:
Join RacingNews365's Ian Parkes, Sam Coop and Nick Golding, as they look back on the Italian Grand Prix! Max Verstappen's dominant win is a lead discussion, as is whether McLaren has set a precedent with its controversial team orders.
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