Testing indicates Ferrari may be ready to challenge Mercedes
March 10, 2017
As preseason training draws to a close, there are indications that Sebastian Vettel and his Ferrari may be capable of challenging Mercedes in 2017. Vettel's teammate, though, was the fastest on the last day of training.
Raikkonen came within three tenths a second of the track record, posting a lap time of 1 minute 18.634 seconds, the fastest time of the day by nearly a second.
Vettel's best time of 1 minute 19.024 seconds on Thursday had already raised hopes that Ferrari, who haven't won a drivers' title since Raikkonen did so in 2007, may be capable of bringing an end to three years of dominance by Mercedes.
'Favorite' role rejected
However, Vettel, who won four titles with Red Bull Racing between 2010 and 2013, has played down such speculation.
"I think if you look at the amount of laps Mercedes has done, if you look historically how slow they were going in the test, how much they were able to ramp it up for the races...I think they're the ones to beat," the German said on Thursday.
However, Mercedes' No. 1 driver, Lewis Hamilton, who won two of the team's three consecutive titles, did his best to cast Ferrari in the role of favorites.
"I think Ferrari are bluffing and that they are a lot quicker than they are showing," said the Briton who lost the battle for last year's drivers' title to his now-retired teammate, Nico Rosberg - despite having won 10 races in 2016. "They're very close to us. It's difficult right now to say exactly who is quicker. But they are very close, if not faster."
The 2017 Formula One teams
The Formula One season is set to begin on March 24. Will Mercedes dominate again or do Sebastian Vettel or Max Verstappen have any chance of changing the status quo? Here are the F1 teams for the 2017 season.
Image: picture alliance/empics/D. Davies
Mercedes - Can they win the constructors' title without Rosberg?
The three-time defending constructors' champions have their sights set on a fourth in 2017. Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas (right) will take the seat vacated by the retired Nico Rosberg alongside three-time champion Lewis Hamilton (left). They make Mercedes the favorites for both the drivers' and constructors' titles.
Image: picture alliance/empics/D. Davies
Ferrari - aspiring to form of glorious years past
The Scuderia Ferrari go into the season with high expectations. Neither Sebastian Vettel (right) nor Kimi Räikkönen (second from right) won a race last season. Vettel, in his 10th season, and Raikkonen, Ferrari's last champion, will hope to put Ferrari back in front.
Image: picture-alliance/HOCH ZWEI
Red Bull Racing - 'catching up'
Red Bull, with drivers Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo are looking to build on their upward trend from last season in the hopes of dethroning Mercedes. The 19-year-old Verstappen, who entered F1 as the circuit's youngest-ever driver, is excited about the new season: "I think Mercedes might still have an advantage on us in terms of power at the beginning of the season but we'll be catching up."
Image: picture-alliance/Cordon Press/J. Valls
Renault - Can Hülkenburg make the podium?
Renault, the successor team to Lotus, are hoping to make an impact this Formula One seaaon. Germany's Nico Hülkenberg (right) has joined British driver Jolyon Palmer (second from left) at Renault and is hoping to help his new team to a successful start. Hülkenberg is still looking for his first spot on the podium after 115 Grand Prix starts.
Image: picture-alliance/dop/N. Ansell
Force India - continuing towards the top
F1's most consistent over-performers of recent years will once again have their sights set on the top half of the field. They reached fourth place in the constructors' championship with 173 points last season. Mexican driver Sergio Perez und and Frenchman Esteban Ocon will be in the cockpits in 2017.
Image: Sahara Force India
Williams F1 - young and old
Williams, which has been involved in Formula One motor racing since 1977, will have 18-year-old Canadian debutant Lance Stroll and veteran Felipe Massa driving for them this season. The 35-year-old Massa had retired at the end of the 2016 season, but agreed to take the wheel for one more year after Valtteri Bottas moved to take the vacant cockpit at Mercedes.
The second-most successful team behind Ferrari will be driving in new black and orange colors this season. The British racing team will once again have Spaniard Fernando Alonso (left) in the cockpit. Stoffel Vandoorne (right), who has just one start in his career, will take part in his first full Formula One season as he has replaced the retired Jenson Button.
Image: picture-alliance/LAT/S. Tee
Haas - Season 2 for the Americans
Successful on the American stock car circuit, Haas is set to take another crack at Formula One this season. They achieved the highest position for a racing team making its debut when Romain Grosjean (left) finished sixth at the 2016 Australian Grand Prix. Danish driver Kevin Magnussen (right) has joined Grosjean at Haas for the 2017 season.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/J. Jordan
Toro Rosso - more than the little Red Bulls?
The Italian racing team has gone back to Renault engines after a season using year-old Ferrari power. Red Bull's stronger 2016 season with Renault might have encouraged the switch. Russian driver Daniil Kvyat and Carlos Sainz Junior, the son of two-time rally world champion Carlos Sainz, constitute an unchanged driver line-up.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/M. Fernandez
Sauber - hoping to move up the pack
The Swiss racing team is hoping to mount a credible challenge again after finishing second-last in the constructors' standings. This season, Germany's Pascal Wehrlein and Swedish driver Marcus Ericsson will seek to collect more points for their team. Due to changes in regulations, the Sauber cars will be equipped with the Ferrari motors from last season.
Image: picture-alliance/LAT
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Dutch youngster Max Verstappen was second fastest in Friday's morning session, as Red Bull again provided evidence that they could be set to emerge as the third power behind Mercedes and Ferrari in 2017.
'No reliability and no power'
It was another tough day for Fernando Alonso and McLaren though, as the two-time world champion's car broke down with the same electrical problems that saw Stoffel Vandoorne stop twice on Thursday.
Alonso did manage to get in 19 laps but was again relegated to last among the 10 drivers on the timesheets. Both Alonso and Vandoorne have suffered though several stoppages and a lack of speed throughout testing. Earlier this week Alonso described his McLaren, which is powered by a Honda engine, as having "no reliability and no power."
The Formula One season opens with the Australian Open in Melbourne on March 26.
