Ferrari’s results are “far away from expectation” so far this season, says team principal Frederic Vasseur.
Ferrari’s target this year was to fight for the world title and improve on their performance in 2022, when they were Red Bull’s closest challenger.
But although competitive in qualifying, they have only scored one podium finish.
Vasseur said he “hopes we will do a step forward” as a result of a car upgrade being introduced in Spain.
Practice for the Spanish Grand Prix starts at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona on Friday, 3 June.
Vasseur added further car developments would be introduced over “the next two or three races”.
Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished sixth and eighth in Monaco on Sunday.
Leclerc fought for pole position and qualified third, only to be given a three-place penalty for impeding Lando Norris in qualifying as a result of the team failing to warn him the McLaren was approaching on a flying lap.
Vasseur added: “We were P3 in qualifying and less than 0.1secs from the front row.
“It was not a disaster. We made some mistakes over the weekend but to say the pace was not there I think is a bit harsh.”
But Vasseur said “no-one could say we did not have pace in Monaco” as the Ferrari drivers did not have a chance to show their potential because they were stuck in a queue of cars behind Alpine’s Esteban Ocon for much of the race.
Vasseur said being able to fight for pole was “a satisfaction” but admitted the problem with Leclerc in qualifying was “a proper mistake”.
He added: “It was not just a matter of communication; it was probably focus.”
Ferrari’s problem in the race is that the car is unpredictable and inconsistent to drive.
Vasseur said: “It is true that so far we were struggling on the long stint with consistency. We are trying to develop the car. It could be mechanical or aero. We are working on it.”