Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali is unsure of the reasons behind his drivers’ car failures which ended all hopes of victory in Bahrain today.
Fernando Alonso suffered a problem early on which saw his DRS system become jammed open. This forced him into pitting twice within two laps, dropping him right down the order, and Domenicali made no secret of his disappointment.
“We don’t know yet. There is a failure and it’s a disappointment because today we could have done a great race. Honestly the pace was there,” Domenicali told Sky Sports.
Ferrari’s day went from bad to worse as Felipe Massa suffered two punctures, and Domenicali was again unsure of what caused these failures.
“It was not the day for us because Felipe had contact at the beginning and then two problems with the tires that we need to understand. We need to understand because one came suddenly at the last corner and one came on the back straight.”
“So not a good day for us, let’s move ahead. Big shame, but that’s racing.”
Alonso did recover to finish 8th, but he was similarly disappointed after running P2 before the problem.
“It was very difficult. We stopped two times in two laps so you are at the back of the group and with no DRS to pass the race becomes very difficult,” the Spanish driver said.
“But it’s the way it went today. A very unlucky race again so in four races two very unlucky moments. It will come for the others and we will take the opportunity in that moment.”
The result sees Ferrari slip to third in the constructors’ championship, and Alonso is now 30 points behind Vettel in the race for the drivers’ title. However, Ferrari will be pleased with its pace this weekend, and Alonso is certainly not to be discounted from challenging for the championship.