Binotto: We are the outsiders

As has become the habit in F1, all teams downplay their chances during testing while talking up their rivals' chances, and that is no different with Ferrari, as despite most pundits up and down the paddock predicting the Red Team is a serious contender, team boss Mattia Binotto is not getting ahead of himself.

Red Bull went fastest of all on the final day of testing in Bahrain, the energy drinks outfit bringing in an impressive upgrade package to their already radical RB18.

Speaking to Sky Italia, Binotto spoke of Red Bull's final day performance in Bahrain, and said: "We are aware of the value of our opponents. They are strong and they proved that today. They say we are the favorites, but we are not.

"The champions of last year are Red Bull. Today they brought developments and show they are strong. There will be three teams close together, but they are the favorites.

"We are the outsiders," the Swiss-born Italian maintained.

One cannot blame Binotto, as Ferrari have made of habit of showing much promise during pre-season testing, only to fade out once the going gets good, so it might be the smart move from him to keep a low profile before a clear picture develops.

"We cannot draw any definite conclusions, because it will take a few races before we can get a picture of the pecking order among the teams," said Binotto in the team's post-Bahrain report.

"However, what we can say now is that these past few days have been positive for us. We were well prepared for these test sessions, as can be seen from the fact we were able to run consistently, without any significant issues, which allowed us to complete more laps than any other team.

"Our main aim was to gather as much data as possible to understand this completely new car, correlating it with what we had from our tools back in the factory, primarily the simulator.

"It’s very hard to say where we are in performance terms and there’s no reason why the frontrunners from last season should not once again be the favourites," he admitted.

"We will try to be ahead of the chasing pack, which I hope to be very evenly matched. Our car is a good basis on which to build and to maximise its potential given that, with such a long season, car development will play a vital role.

"Charles and Carlos came into these tests in great shape and they have made a major contribution to us getting the most out of these days," Binotto pointed out.

"Finally, it’s great to see so many different interpretations of the rules among all the teams. We can expect a very interesting season," the Ferrari boss concluded.