Nico Rosberg explains where Ferrari have got it wrong this season

Ferrari sit third in the Constructors’ Championship 63 points behind leaders Red Bull

Nico Rosberg has sounded off about how Ferrari could improve (Getty Images for Greentech Festi)

Nico Rosberg has warned Ferrari that they can’t afford any more mistakes, when it comes to their upgrades, if they are to challenge Red Bull in the second half of the season.

After winning the Monaco Grand Prix in May, Ferrari seemed to be confirming their position as Red Bull’s nearest challenger with the Scuderia less than a race win away from taking the lead in the Constructors’ Championship.

Just six races later Ferrari sit third in the championship behind McLaren and 63 points behind Red Bull.

The change in fortune occurred when the team accelerated their development plans for the Spanish Grand Prix, but the new parts had a detrimental effect on the performance, with driver Carlos Sainz saying they lost “two to three months” worth of development time.

The biggest issue was the new floor, which resulted in cars bouncing in the high-speed corners.

“It’s not good,” Rosberg told Sky F1. “It’s got away from them a little bit because the upgrades introduced bouncing in high-speed corners, which is not the thing you want to have.

“They didn’t really understand why so they had to do a step back to understand, to then hopefully make progress again for the future. You cannot allow yourself to do that when someone like McLaren is just straight-lining the development curve at an amazing pace.

“And so that’s why now they find themselves where they are today, three, four or five-tenths behind. Let’s see if they can get closer.”

Nico Rosberg walked away from the sport having celebrated winning the Formula One title in Abu Dhabi (PA Archive)

Martin Brundle added: “The upgrade didn’t work that they put on after Spain and around Imola. They found bits that did and bits that didn’t work.

“It seems to me Ferrari are a little bit at sea at the moment, it’s almost like that needs to reset. It’s not as serious as what’s going on at Aston Martin, but there’s no doubt about it, Ferrari have dropped away from the ultimate pace.”

The next race is the Dutch Grand Prix, which takes place from 23 Aug - 25 Aug in Zandvoort, where Ferrari will be hoping the tweaks they have made during the summer break can help them close the gap on Red Bull.