According to Auto Bild, the leading German automobile magazine based in Hamburg, the general feeling in the paddock is that the Ferrari power unit is currently the best: “You see Mattia Binotto smirking in the paddock and when you ask him about it, he tries to keep the feet on the ground with jokes: ‘We have survived the first few days'” – reports Auto Bild at the end of Day 3 of the pre-season testing session.
Auto motor und sport (AMuS) informs that Mercedes’ current gap to Ferrari is for the moment difficult to estimate, but it is estimated to a deficit of about 0.5 seconds, possibly even more: “It’s hard to read the lap times because everyone seems to be driving a different program this year.” Mercedes’ engineers also say that the gap to Ferrari is bigger in one lap than in the long run. At the moment Ferrari wins at most points of the circuit as compared to Mercedes, both on the straights and in corners.
Scuderia Ferrari Team Principal Mattia Binotto was asked if the Italian side had encountered any problems in the final part of today’s testing session given the fact that German driver Sebastian Vettel ended the day 30 minutes earlier, to which the Swiss-Italian engineer calmly replied: “No problems. Do you see me worried?”
At the moment things are looking pretty good for Scuderia Ferrari with less than one month until the first race of the 2019 Formula One season, but Team Principal Mattia Binotto is not one to take things for granted and warns his Ferrari team to remain fully focused on the work which is required in order to continue improving and developing the SF90 car, especially during the season, a task that in recent years has proven difficult for the Italian side: “Mercedes are good at solving problems. If they are behind, they’ll catch up quickly.” – Mattia Binotto concluded.
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