Ferrari admit “not hiding” their true performance in testing
F1 News
- Bevan Youl
Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto has said that they were “not hiding” their pace in testing and that what everyone saw was their “true performance” going into the first race of the season in Melbourne.
The Scuderia have stated several times that didn’t go as well as preferred, a stark difference to the previous year where they dominated, anticipating being behind Mercedes and Red Bull at the opening race in Melbourne.
But contrasting opinions have come from Ferrari’s rivals feeling that they have been holding back and will be in the mix racing in Australia.
During testing in Barcelona Binotto stated otherwise when asked about their speed in a straight line, quoted by Motorsport.com: “We are not hiding. That is our true performance.
“I think it's difficult to split on the straights what is drag and what is power, but certainly we are down on speed compared to other competitors.
“I think that's affected by one way from the drag and the other from the reliability programme that we have in place.”
The Italian said that the overall performance of the SF1000 needs to be worked on to improve it.
“I think we need to still work on the balance of the car and the setup to optimize its overall performance around the racetrack,” he added.
“But generally speaking, we need to improve the base performance of the car, which is power, drag and downforce.
“There is no doubt and no discussion on that.”