Vasseur reveals what really cost Ferrari at the Austrian Grand Prix

Despite starting in P2 and P3, Ferrari slipped down the pecking order during the race, with Lewis Hamilton finishing fifth and Charles Leclerc dropping from second to eighth.

Ferrari's strategy appeared questionable during the race, but Vasseur said this was just a matter of taking risks to compensate for the lack of pace compared to their rivals.

Speaking to F1 TV, Vasseur was asked to explain Ferrari's strategy decisions, with both drivers pitting three times after struggling with tyre degradations in the blistering hot conditions in Spielberg.

Vasseur said: "Oh, the strategy is not the issue, I think the issue is that we didn’t have the pace of the Mercedes and Verstappen. We tried to compensate taking risks on the strategy, but it was not a good fight. I think it was more a matter of pace, and we paid also [the price for] the poor Friday we had. I think compared to McLaren we are there, compared to Mercedes and Max it was more difficult. We overpushed probably the first couple of laps to stay with them, and we destroyed a bit everything.”

The Ferrari team principal also came to the defence of Leclerc, who has only scored four points in the last three races, after also suffering DNFs in Monaco and Barcelona. He said: "He was on the first row, which means that the confidence was there, and was there today. It’s more a matter of overheating and destroying everything, it’s nothing to do with [his] pace.”

Bernie Ecclestone believes Ferrari's current problem is having 'too many Italians.' The Scuderia also endured a difficult Sunday in Austria after its previous victory in Barcelona.

"Trouble with Ferrari, I think there's too many Italians that's involved explaining what to do and what not to do," Ecclestone was quoted by Crash.net at the Austrian Grand Prix. "You just need really one person do this or do that. Whether they're right or wrong, time will tell them."