Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc not expecting to challenge Mercedes when F1 finally starts. Ferrari drivers not expecting to challenge when F1 finally starts.

Scuderia Ferrari drivers Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc have warned against a Ferrari resurgence when Formula 1 finally starts. The Italian side’s form in pre-season testing left a great deal to be desired, with team principal Mattia Binotto departing Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya in late February expressing concerns the SF1000 was not as fast as either Mercedes’ W11 or Red Bull’s RB16.

The teams will have had some opportunity to work on the cars prior to the enforced shutdown that commenced late March, and was recently extended to 63 days, with F1 personnel not now due to return until late May/early June.

Sebastian Vettel, however, is not hopeful of too much progress once racing finally starts, with the Austrian Grand Prix on July 5 provisionally the first race of the new calendar: “Right now we are in a lockdown phase and we don’t know how long it will be like that before a lot of businesses reopen. Whenever we will start again means that it is safe to do so, and obviously the time until then wasn’t time to develop the car – it was time to shut down and take the right measures. I would expect the same picture as to when we left testing.” – the German driver explained.

F1 has expressed hope of cramming in 15 to 18 races from early July to mid-December, leaving little opportunity for development in between grands prix.

Charles Leclerc feels that could hamper the team should the starting point see the cars as off the pace as they were during testing.

“It’s difficult,” said Charles “We struggled a bit during testing so we need to catch up. Whether we will be able to or not, I don’t know, but last year we had good progression throughout the year.

“We need to keep working, as we did last year, and I’m pretty sure the results will come. It is going to be a difficult season for everyone because as soon as it starts, it’s not going to stop. We won’t have any breaks to develop the car more than the others, so I think the work on track will be extremely important, more than it has been in other years because we will spend a lot of time on track when the season restarts. It’s going to be very important to be focused and ready from the first race on, as drivers, to give the right feedback to the team, and help the team in the right direction straight away.” – the Monegasque driver concluded.