Ferrari sure Monaco Grand Prix slump was a one-off

Fernando Alonso could only finish seventh after being overtaken by both Adrian Sutil and Jenson Button during the race, while team-mate Felipe Massa started at the back after a practice crash kept him out of qualifying and hit the wall in the race due to a suspension failure.

Domenicali stressed that, while Ferrari won the previous race in Spain, its Monaco struggles do not represent a slump any more than its performance at Barcelona proved the team was dominant.

He also pointed out that Monaco has been a poor track for Ferrari and the team has endured over a decade of failure there since Michael Schumacher won in 2001.

"We didn't have the pace and we have to understand why, but we are used to reacting very quickly after a difficult weekend," said Domenicali.

"It's very difficult to say [why we struggled]

"I said to our guys that, as we say in Italy, were were not 'in the stars' at the end of the weekend in Barcelona and we are not in the dust after Monte Carlo.

"Unfortunately, there must be a reason why we have not won at this track since 2001, maybe it's the characteristics or the situations, I don't know."

Domenicali stressed that it is still early in the season and that the championship has yet to take shape properly.

Alonso lies third in the drivers' championship, 29 points behind Sebastian Vettel, while Ferrari holds second in the constructors' standings despite managing only six points in Monaco.

"From a sporting point of view, the only positive thing was that Kimi [Raikkonen] didn't get many points, but Vettel was second," said Domenicali.

"But we are just six [races into the season] out of 19.

"The championship is very long and even if we are second in the constructors' championship, Mercedes seems to be very strong and can come back.

"It will be a great challenge for everyone, a great championship, but we need to react and understand the reasons why we are not at the level that we wanted here."