Yet, his rivals still turn their attention to Monaco this weekend with a degree of positivity.
Charles Leclerc may not have finished the race in Barcelona - denied by an engine problem - but left boosted that the Ferrari upgrades had clearly worked. Before the power in the Ferrari deserted him, he was streets ahead of the rest of the field.
But now he has slipped behind Verstappen in the drivers' championship for the first time this season, while Red Bull have leapfrogged Ferrari in the constructors' table.
"Let's say that I feel better after this weekend than I felt after the last two weekends," said Leclerc.
"The new package worked as expected, which is not always a given, and everything was working well.
"Our race pace and tyre management, which in the last two races we have been struggling quite a bit with compared to Red Bull, was strong." But there are still gremlins. The engine failure is a concern and, despite Leclerc's positivity regarding the tyres, that also remains a question mark.
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