Ascanelli: Inexperience has cost us
The Italian outfit claimed their first ever win in the sport at their home event in Monza on Sunday, the result hardly too much of a surprise considering their recent improvement in form.
However, STR have also had to overcome the fact that both their racers – Sebastian Vettel and Sebastien Bourdais – need to learn what several of the tracks are like in a F1 car from scratch, which has hampered the team's progress ever so slightly.
"I said at the beginning of the year that our target was to finish in the championship behind Red Bull," Ascanelli told Setanta.
"Valencia was a circuit that erased memory for everybody, so our two drivers didn't have to pay the price of inexperience.
"In Spa, quite the opposite, both Vettel and Bourdais, who has raced there in the 24 hours [race], so it was quite familiar.
"Most of the difference in performance is coming from the drivers. No matter what we can do I still think drivers are most important." Setanta Ireland