Ferrari plays down Monaco defeat
Sporting director Stefano Domenicali was disappointed with Felipe Massa's third place, a minute behind the silver clad Mercedes-powered duo.
But he told the German broadcaster Premiere: "It is necessary to not forget that we are in Monte Carlo, and races here are normally unusual.
"Qualifying well is so crucial, and we paid the price for that."
Massa confessed after Sunday's race that he was simply outpaced by Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton, but Domenicali said the 26-year-old lost a lot of time in the "most important phase" behind Super Aguri's Anthony Davidson, who was penalized for not moving over for blue flags.
The Italian said: "That was crucial. Behind Davidson he lost two seconds per lap and he could do nothing about it."
Domenicali insisted that Ferrari was "content" with Kimi Raikkonen's single point, but added that – even with a one stop strategy – "more was not possible" following his qualifying error and lowly starting position.
"The season is still long," he said.
"Now we go to North America, where we must make a more positive result, but our deficit also should not be overstated.
"This is what it is like — here McLaren dominated, but at the next race or in the next races the situation could look completely different again."