"It will not be much different" - Ferrari boss confirms team to hold off on upgrades till Bahrain test

Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto has confirmed the F1-75 will not have many changes done to it going into the second round of pre-season testing in Bahrain.

After positive outings with both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz at Barcelona, the mood in the Ferrari stables is one of optimism. Binotto is aware of the possibility of teams improving between now and the start of the season. The Italian, however, does not expect their 2022 challenger to evolve drastically by the time it hits the asphalt in Sakhir.

When asked about the plans going into the second pre-season testing session due to start on March 10, Binotto said:

“It will not be much different compared to what we’ve got. I think that the first step for us will be to optimize what we have. We are still far from the best performance, not only because we are running high fuel and not the best engine mode, but simply because there is a lot to exploit more from the car itself.”

Binotto feels that his engineers can obtain more performance from the F1-75 as the season progresses. He went on to add, saying:

“We are more focused on that one [extracting more pace], not only in terms of setup engineering, but as well in terms of driving style and the drivers themselves. So let’s wait, let’s see what the others will bring. Certainly as Ferrari we are always concerned on upgrades of our competitors. And I’m pretty sure they will be very, very strong by then.”

The Scuderia also claims to have solved its porpoising issue, according to Binotto.

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Ferrari driver feels everyone 'still hiding their true form' in pre-season testing

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc has taken his team's good run in Barcelona's pre-season testing session with a grain of salt. The Monegasque feels most teams are holding back and hiding their true potential for the first Grand Prix of the year.

During a media intercation at the Circuit de Catalunya, the two-time race winner with the Prancing Horse said:

“It was the first time that we could really push in our new car and it felt really good to be back behind the wheel. We completed all the tests we wanted to and ran through our full program smoothly, which is good for a new car. I’m looking forward to being back on track again tomorrow. The initial feeling is not bad, but we shouldn’t get carried away by the timesheets today, as these are early days and everyone is still hiding their true form. It’s impossible to have a clear picture just yet, so we have to stay focused and keep working hard. We put in a lot of laps, more than any other team today, and that’s a positive we will build on.”

Leclerc got in a total of 203 laps during the first three days of testing and posted a best lap time of 1:19.689 in his F1-75.