Ferrari chief Fred Vasseur has admitted that they got their strategy all wrong as Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton toiled at the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday.
Both men had gone into the day hoping to secure glory.
However, they were forced to settle for P8 and P10 respectively as Lando Norris, Max Verstappen and George Russell all secured spots on the podium.
Vasseur has now opened up in the aftermath of the race - with the Ferrari chief expressing a belief the wrong strategy was behind their problems on the day.
F1 news: Fred Vasseur has blamed Ferrari's 'strategy' for the woes of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton at the Australian Grand Prix
PA
"Thinking of the quali pace, I think we were always slower than McLaren," he said.
"Today, we were probably on the pace of Mercedes.
"It’s difficult to bring anything out of this race; it wasn’t the right strategy.
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"Now let’s focus on the next one. McLaren is a step ahead; behind, we are all close."
Hamilton has also reacted to the day's drama.
And the 40-year-old admitted that his car was 'really hard' to drive, much to his frustration.
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F1 news: Charles Leclerc could only finish eighth at the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday
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"It was very tricky and went a lot worse than I thought that it would go," he fumed.
"The car was really hard to drive today so I'm just grateful I kept it out of the wall because that's where it wanted to go most of the time.
"A lot to take from it but also getting acclimatised to the new power unit in the wet conditions, all the settings it requires are different, a different way of driving and different set-up on the steering wheel.
"I hung out as long as I could and got in the lead at one point but the guidance in terms of how much more wet rain was coming was just missing there so I think we missed out."
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As for Norris, meanwhile, the 25-year-old was understandably delighted after clinching glory.
“It was amazing, it was a tough race especially with Max [Verstappen] behind me, I was pushing especially the last two laps which was a little bit stressful but an amazing way to start the year," he said.
“It was a tough one because we went off and made some big mistakes, it was just tricky conditions but these are the ones that are enjoyable, fun and unpredictable, but this time we got it right and I’m very happy.”
On the difficult conditions, he added: “We got it wrong a lot last year so I guess we learn from our mistakes.
F1 news: Lewis Hamilton could only finish 10th at the Australian Grand Prix
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"It’s still only round one but dealing with the pressure with Max and Oscar [Piastri] behind me, I was pushing the whole way through.
"I could relax inside but I couldn’t relax by how much I was pushing so it was a tough one.
“To not make too many mistakes and to not have a mistake that cost me anything I guess I can take a little bit of credit for that.
"A tough and challenging race but a big thanks to McLaren because they’ve given me an amazing car.”
