Ex-F1 boss cuts through Ferrari’s testing hype with unsettling prediction

13:34, 24 Feb

bySamson Ero

Guenther Steiner has offered a cautious take on what to expect from Scuderia Ferrari despite their blistering pace during testing.

“You never really know where they stand.”

- Guenther Steiner

The former Haas team principal admitted how tricky it can be to predict what to expect from the Ferrari team, which he described as having always been a challenge for the Maranello outfit.

“Ferrari is Ferrari, I'd say. You never really know where they stand. They're up there, but are they right at the front? That's always been the problem with Ferrari,” Steiner explained via Sports.de.

The 60-year-old continued by tempering expectations, stressing that he is certain the Italian outfit is among the quickest teams and, with the right car, believes Charles Leclerc can win the drivers’ championship.

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc - Photo: Race Pictures

“You can see the car is good. They're in the top four. I'm sure Charles Leclerc wants to be world champion, and if the car is capable of it, he'll fight very hard to finally bring this championship home for Ferrari again."

The Ferrari outfit so far has proven to be the quickest on the field, with the Prancing Horse posting the fastest times in both the shakedown in Barcelona and Bahrain, with Lewis Hamilton and Leclerc setting the respective benchmarks.

McLaren boss names Ferrari among teams to beat

Earlier, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella identified Ferrari as one of the favourites for the new campaign.

The 54-year-old, in his assessment of the pecking order, placed the Italian team alongside Mercedes as the leading duo heading into the first race of the season. Stella concluded by adding McLaren to the top-four pack, with Red Bull Racing completing the group.