Ferrari clown show returns as strategy backfires and Formula 1 title hopes take a hit in Austria

Instead, the great Scuderia endured another baffling afternoon that reignited uncomfortable questions over its race execution after throwing away what might've been a certain podium finish at Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix.

Charles Leclerc lined up second on the grid, with Hamilton third, giving Ferrari its strongest starting position of the season. Yet neither driver finished inside the top four. Hamilton came home fifth, while Leclerc slumped to eighth after both drivers were committed to a three-stop strategy that none of their direct rivals followed.

The result undid much of the momentum Ferrari had built just one week earlier. George Russell claimed victory for Mercedes ahead of Max Verstappen, while Ferrari left the Red Bull Ring with only modest points despite starting in prime position to capitalise.

Team principal Fred Vasseur rejected suggestions that strategy was responsible for the disappointing outcome. Instead, he insisted Ferrari simply lacked the pace to challenge the leaders.

"The strategy is not the issue," Vasseur insisted. "I think the issue is that we didn't have the pace of Mercedes and Verstappen. We tried to compensate, taking risks on the strategy, but it was not a good fight, I think. It's more a matter of pace and we pay also the poor Friday that we had also."

That explanation is unlikely to convince many observers. Ferrari's decision to split from the strategies of Mercedes, Red Bull and McLaren ultimately achieved little. The three-stop approach dropped both drivers into traffic while offering no meaningful pace advantage, leaving Hamilton fifth and Leclerc only eighth after qualifying on the front row.

Hamilton briefly looked capable of challenging Russell after overtaking his teammate at the start and running second during the opening laps. However, his race quickly unravelled as tyre degradation set in before his first stop.

The seven-time F1 world champion admitted Ferrari never found a comfortable balance throughout the race: "I didn't agree with any of the tyres today. It was a very hard race, a really tough race, one, being extremely hot. My start wasn't really good to be honest. My get away was poor.

"I was on the attack, obviously got past Charles and I thought it wasn't looking too bad on the first few laps, with George I was holding on for a second and then the rears just dropped off. On every set, for some reason the balance was often very difficult."

Hamilton also revealed Ferrari still appears to be carrying a straight-line performance deficit despite the upgrades introduced in Spain: "On Friday we were down six tenths just on the straight line speed. I have to go and see what the case was today but I am sure it was not insignificant.

"But also grip-wise, we just couldn't keep up with everyone today so very tough one but grateful for the points, the team did a great job with the strategy and with the pit stops, the boys worked so hard on the pit stops so really proud of them. Not the result we wanted but we got points at least."

Asked whether Ferrari continues to suffer from power deployment issues, Hamilton replied: "We are going to have to push really hard to see when we can get the next power upgrade. It is deployment, doesn't necessarily feel so much as power. It is deployment at the end so we have got to look at why and how we can improve that."

Vasseur suggested Ferrari's early efforts to remain with Russell and Verstappen accelerated tyre degradation and compromised the remainder of the race.

"I think compared to McLaren, we were there, but compared to Mercedes and Max, it was more difficult," the Ferrari boss explained. "We over-pushed probably the first couple of laps to stay with them and we destroyed a bit everything."

Leclerc painted an equally concerning picture after slipping from the front row to eighth. The Monegasque admitted Ferrari still cannot explain why its competitiveness fluctuates so dramatically from one weekend to the next.

"It's fair to say this was a step back, it was pretty bad today," Leclerc said. "I went into a direction yesterday that was similar to where I felt good last year but then this year it was never working, the rear was never there, I was sliding around, overheating the rear tyres."

The Monegasque added: "Nobody is understanding the difference in performance from one weekend to another. In Barcelona, we were one of the strongest cars on the Sunday.

"We brought some upgrades that worked, I don't think it's the upgrades that are to blame this weekend, these cars are just very sensitive to wherever you place them and if you're not in the right place with the setup you pay the price a lot. Today was a very good example of that."

Those comments perhaps expose Ferrari's biggest concern. One week after appearing capable of challenging consistently at the front, the team once again looked unpredictable, with setup sensitivity leaving both drivers unable to match Mercedes and Red Bull over race distance.

Austria was supposed to confirm Ferrari's resurgence following its victory in Spain. Instead, it reopened familiar questions over race management, consistency and execution. Whether the problem was outright pace, strategy or a combination of both, Ferrari left Spielberg looking like a team that still has plenty of answers to find if it hopes to sustain a genuine championship challenge.