Felipe Massa admitted to feeling downcast after victory was snatched away from him in Hungary – but said Ferrari must aim to strike back as soon as possible.
The Brazilian looked set for a consummate win in a race that had been widely tipped as a Lewis Hamilton benefit after the McLaren driver dominated practice and qualifying.
Massa passed both McLarens by the first corner and was leading Hamilton by five seconds when the Briton picked up a puncture – only for his own hopes to go up in smoke, along with his Ferrari engine, three laps from the chequered flag.
“It happened completely without warning, without giving the slightest indication,” said Massa.
“I was managing the race, because I had a good advantage over second place after Hamilton was delayed with a problem and I was taking no risks whatsoever.
“I am very frustrated at the moment, because today we had a great car and we had done everything perfectly until just a few kilometres from the finish.
“Unfortunately, racing can be a cruel sport.
“We had given it our all, but these things can happen.
“Now we must not give up; instead we must react quickly.
“There are seven races to go and 70 points up for grabs, which means there is plenty of time to make up ground.
“Our rivals are strong but we have shown we are at their level.”
Team boss Stefano Domenicali admitted the team had let Massa down after a sterling performance, but said Ferrari would take heart from its race pace relative to McLaren.
“Today we showed the worth of our team and our drivers, but we lacked the total reliability which is absolutely vital.
“Felipe drove possibly the best race of his career and we are very disappointed about what happened to him just a handful of kilometres from the end.
“He made an amazing start, attacking at the right moment and then he was comfortably managing his race in the final stages heading for a well-deserved victory.
“We have to react to this negative moment in our usual way: with grit, determination and with everyone playing their part.
“We have three weeks of hard work ahead of us to be as well prepared as possible for the European Grand Prix.”
Ferrari retains the lead of the constructors’ championship but Massa’s engine failure meant that instead of retaking the lead in the drivers’ standings, he fell to third place behind team-mate Kimi Raikkonen.