It was clear immediately after qualifying for the 2022 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix Sprint Race, in parc ferme, that second-placed Charles Leclerc was disappointed, even dazed at having been denied pole position for the track named after his team's founder Enzo Ferrari and son Dino.
It would have been special, a bright Red cherry on the Imola homecoming cake but, instead, he had to stomach watching title rival Max Verstappen take the honours in Ferrari's front yard which is Imola.
Disappointing considering that a couple of hours early, also in damp to wet conditions during FP1, Leclerc was a whopping 1.4 seconds faster than the Red Bull driver and nearly a second faster than Carlos Sainz in the other Ferrari.
The latter binned it and was not a factor for pole, but neither was Leclerc it turned out as too many red flags coupled with bad timing means he starts the Sprint Race from second on the grid.
He said afterwards in parc ferme: "It was very tricky. Especially on the slicks there quite a lot of wet patches. So it was all about putting the laps in and waiting for Q3 to put everything together.
"This is why it’s even more frustrating for me because when it counts in Q3 I did the wrong choice, but it’s life. We’ll learn from this and in the end P2 is not a disaster. Everything to play for tomorrow and after tomorrow and well give everything."
Leclerc: Qualifying didn’t end exactly as I wanted it to
The Monegasque added later in the team report: "But starting the race from P2 isn’t too bad. It was a tricky one. Q1 and Q2 were all about making it through to Q3 – and then pushing hard.
I did one strong lap in the last session, then decided to abort my second lap to save the tyres for my last two runs at the end of Q3.
"Unfortunately, that never happened because of the red flags. It’s a shame, but everything is still possible. We’ve been competitive in all sessions so far and have the potential to fight for the win," declared the Monegasque.
Teammate Sainz repaid Ferrari's faith in him, extending his deal a couple more years, was to stick it in the wall when he was already through to Q3, only to lose it on the final corner of his second flying lap. An unnecessary error that did his shares no favours on the day.
Sainz: I wasn’t even pushing that hard
Sainz reflected on his disheartening Friday afternoon at Imola: "This is a very tough one to take and there is little to say other than sorry to the entire team and every fan out there.
"I wasn’t even pushing that hard, as we had more than enough pace to make it into Q3 comfortably. The car surprised me with a snap and I couldn’t stop it before hitting the wall.
"Thinking positively, the weekend is not over yet and I still have the Sprint race and the Grand Prix on Sunday to try to recover. It’s a difficult moment but now it’s time to focus on what is ahead," added Sainz who will start from tenth on the grid, in the heart of the merciless midfield; surviving that should be his first priority.
Racing director Laurent Mekies summed up: "Even though the result of qualifying did not quite go in our favour, I still want to thank the team here and back in Maranello because we have started the weekend on the right foot and we were immediately competitive.
"Unfortunately, today, what made the difference was the timing of the red flags. If the fourth had come out a few seconds earlier, then pole would have gone to Charles, but that wasn’t to be, so it went to Max Verstappen."
Mekies: The Ferrari F1-75 was competitive on both wet weather tyre compounds
The Ferrari man continued: "Charles’ second place is still a good result and tomorrow Carlos will have the opportunity to fight back after what happened in Q2. These things can happen and it’s easy to understand how frustrating this must have been for him, given the potential he had demonstrated earlier.
"There’s still a long way to go this weekend, so now we have to reset and focus on tomorrow and Sunday. The F1-75 is on the pace and we have all we need to do a good job.
"A positive aspect today was that the car was also competitive on both wet weather tyre compounds. We never had the opportunity to run in these conditions and that confirms we are on the right path.
"Tonight we will work to identify the areas in which we can improve, because as has been the case so far this season, the fight with our main rivals will go down to hundredths of a second and every factor can make the difference," added Mekies.
Ahead of Round 4 of the 2022 F1 world championship, Leclerc tops the drivers' standings while Ferrari rule the constructor's roost.
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