Ferrari dismayed by qualifying form slump at Monza

Ferrari is celebrating its 70th anniversary this weekend at its home circuit, the Autodromo Nazionale Monza. But that didn't stop Saturday's rain-hit qualifying session proving a deep disappointment to the Scuderia.

Although both cars made it through to Q3, they were a long way off the pace of Mercedes. Sebastian Vettel was only seventh fastest in the final round, with Kimi Raikkonen eighth. Both drivers were over two seconds off the pace set by Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton.

"I don't know," Vettel replied when asked what he thought Ferrari's problem had been on Saturday.

"I was surprised by how quick the others went. Clearly we couldn't go the same pace. At this stage we don't know why.

"Sure there's a couple of things we'll look into and try and understand," he added. "Nevertheless it was an important day. Obviously something didn't work, didn't come together.

"It is what it is," he shrugged. "We'll see what we can do tomorrow."

Vettel can at least take some comfort in knowing that he and his team mate Kimi Raikkonen will advance two places up the grid thanks to grid penalties for both Red Bull cars.

The weather forecast for Sunday is also expected to be dry and much warmer, which should suit the Scuderia better than the rain that bedevilled qualifying.

"We have a good car, so I don't think we need to be afraid," Vettel said of his race prospects.

"Obviously today didn't do the way we wanted, but for tomorrow I think we can make up a lot of ground," he insisted. "The car is quick, we know that. You can overtake here. It should be a fun race."

• Hamilton clinches pole record in rain-hit Monza qualifying

Vettel paid tribute to the fans who waited out the rain to see qualifying action. However, he questioned why modern Formula 1 had such trouble running in the wet.

"The reality is that in these conditions we struggled," he said. "Years go we were able to run in these conditions, so something is not right. Obviously we struggled with aquaplaning.

"It's a shame for the people to wait for us. It doesn't matter [for us], we are in the dry - we just wait and then get ready again. But for the people out there it's quite ugly.

"Not ideal, but tomorrow should be a nicer day," he added.

Like Vettel, Raikkonen was also mystified as to why Ferrari's pace had suffered so badly in qualifying compared with its rivals.

"I don't know. We're not fast enough," he said succinctly. "Obviously at least with my car - I don't know about the other car - but I struggled a lot with grip.

"I couldn't make the tyres work," he added. "Whatever it is, it's very slippery that's for sure. Especially with the lower down force. You can't put enough force in the tyres and it's a never-ending story."

"Far from ideal after today, but this is what we got today. Tomorrow we start in a bit better position that we qualified. We'll see how the weather will turn out to be.

"Hopefully I think for sure in the dry we're going to be a lot better," he offered. "But what can you do?"

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