Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur has stated his squad must work to ensure it doesn't leave points behind as it looks to return to F1 title success.
The Italian squad entered the current season with high expectations after narrowly missing out on a constructors' championship last year.
It was also buoyed by the arrival of Lewis Hamilton, however the seven-time champion has often struggled to extract pace from the car.
McLaren's strong start has seen it take a commanding lead in the standings and according to Vasseur, it is exceeding pre-season expectations.
“The initial goal was to fight for the championship, but I think it’s true for us, it’s true for McLaren, for Red Bull, for Mercedes,” Vasseur told media including RacingNews365.
“We are all in this mood to fight for the championship at the beginning of the season. I think if you compare with expectations, probably McLaren is one step ahead compared to everybody.
“And we didn’t do a good job on our side.”
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'You can't leave points on the way'
Ferrari has run into a handful of obstacles, including a dramatic lack of pace at some events as well as a costly double-disqualification in China.
While Vasseur has praised the team for how it has responded to its early-season setback in Shanghai, the Frenchman hinted its slow start could prove costly in the championship fight.
“Just speaking about us Ferrari - we didn’t do a good job, the couple of races, we had the disqualification in China,” he said.
“We were 60 points behind Red Bull and Mercedes at this stage of the season.
“And overall, I think we had a decent recovery, at least compared to Red Bull, Mercedes. Compared to McLaren, they are still one step ahead.
“It means we have to continue to try to do a better job each day and improve. I had the feeling that on some occasions this year, we missed opportunities, and we didn’t do the same level of job as we did last year, let’s say.
“And this, clearly, we need to improve. But it's true that if you want to win the championship—and I think it’s a good lesson of 2024 - you can’t leave points on the way. Last year, we had a double DNF in Canada.
“We had a couple of events with DNFs and issues, and it’s where we have to improve, clearly. But I think it’s difficult to say because we are still behind McLaren.
“The target is to be P1. But I think we are improving from the beginning of the season to today.”
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