Ferrari Still Hedging Bets About Upcoming F1 Season

Ferrari still seems very uncertain about the upcoming Formula 1 season. In a series of statements by the team and both drivers, the entire organization keeps telling fans not to expect the team to be dominant this season, and the car is still in development. 

“It’s going to be a very long season and, at least as far as see it, a very unpredictable one: there are many teams who look like being in the hunt, especially in the early stages. We arrive in Australia knowing we have not reached our goals in terms of performance for a variety of reasons, which we have discussed at length over the past few days. However, I wish to repeat what I said before, we still need to wait a few days before knowing where we stand in relation to the others. I’m convinced that we will be in the fight and we will be there right to the end," said Team Principal Stefano Domenicali. 

Domenicalli went on to say to assure fans not to feel "downhearted" if Ferrari is not in the elite pack at the beginning of this season.

Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa also discussed their views on the upcoming season as well, and neither one of them were much more optimistic than Domenicalli. 

“We need to keep working and developing the car,” he began. “Our progress with the car is quite innovative compared to the past at Ferrari, so six days of testing is not enough to change from black to white. It’s not a continuation from last year’s car, so we need more time, more time than other teams to maximize our potential," said Alonso. 

Alonso also discussed technical director Pat Fry's comments about the team's low chance of getting on the podium. 

"Maybe we did not reach the targets or the numbers we were expecting from this car, but that does not mean the actual numbers we see are not enough to fight for the podium. We will find that out only this weekend. There is definitely more to come from this car and hopefully it will come soon,” said Alonso.

Even Felipe Massa does not seem does not seem totally confident about this season. 

“To be honest, we were not so happy with the way the winter testing went, but it’s also true that before the start of the 2011 season, we were very happy and then we got here and we were not so good, nor indeed were we for the rest of the year. Winter testing does not always give a clear picture. I hope we find our car is capable of competing right from the first race," said Massa. 

Although, he does seem happy to begin racing for this season. 

“It’s nice that the time for ‘blah blah blah’ is over. Now, after Saturday’s qualifying, we will have a clearer picture of where we are and on Sunday after the race, we will have a further indication of what our car is like compared to the others," he said. 

In its prime in the late 90s and early 2000s, Ferrari won the Australian Grand Prix consecutively from 1999 to 2002 and again in 2004.