Vasseur downplays another disappointing weekend for Ferrari.

      "Everyone believes they can easily be dismissed."

      Ferrari's prolonged underperformance has sparked a renewed wave of criticism in Italy, following another challenging weekend in Singapore. Sky Italia's Leo Turrini expressed the sentiment candidly: "Zero prospects and zero titles."

      Lewis Hamilton has clearly found the transition to life at Ferrari more difficult than anticipated. "I felt good in the car throughout the weekend," he remarked after qualifying in P6, just ahead of Charles Leclerc. "I thought, perhaps mistakenly, that we could compete for the top positions. However, the way the program is managed, including pitlane wait times and the process of using a tire and coming back in, doesn’t allow us to optimize the session. We need to address this with the team and discuss it calmly. Everyone is trying their best, but we also need to pay attention to what others are doing."

      Hamilton highlighted Mercedes’ strategy after his former teammate George Russell secured pole position. "If you observe Mercedes, they were the first out and didn't lose any tire temperature," he pointed out.

      Former world champion Jenson Button shared his thoughts with Sky, noting that Ferrari's internal pressure is evident. "You can't be afraid of failure, but that's exactly how I perceive it at Ferrari," he stated. "I think everyone feels they can easily be ousted. That’s not a reassuring feeling."

      Leclerc denied feeling disenchanted, yet his frustration was apparent after another disappointing weekend. "When a team like Mercedes, which typically struggles on tracks like this, clinches pole, we have no excuses," he stated. "We need to perform better. I don’t know what else to say," he added, having used an expletive to express how poor his experience in Singapore had been.

      Team principal Frederic Vasseur acknowledged that Mercedes has surpassed them. "Yes, it's true for Red Bull, true for McLaren, and true for us," he confirmed. "I believe Mercedes is improving. They had a tough day yesterday, but today they were impressive, indicating they've made significant progress compared to everyone else, not just us."

      He conceded that Ferrari's 2025 car is still a challenge. "No, it remains very much on the edge. It's not an easy car to handle," he stated.

      Addressing Hamilton’s concerns about tire preparation, Vasseur remarked: "It's challenging to find the right approach for the tire preparation lap, and perhaps if you have good conditions at the start of the lap but not at the end, everything is very much on the limit. However, I want to focus on the positives from the weekend. We were competitive on Friday morning, and we were there in Q1. We must continue our development and maintain this mindset. We need to keep pushing and believe that we can succeed."