Why Ferrari's testing pace is looking like a false idol
Little more than a day into the Formula 1 season, expectations that Ferrari might take the fight to Mercedes already seem wide of the mark. How far ahead is Mercedes, and what else did the first day of practice in Melbourne reveal?
When Formula 1 left Barcelona behind and packed its freight off to Australia, Ferrari's electrifying testing pace suggested maybe, just maybe, Mercedes might face a genuine fight to retain its iron grip on the world championship in 2017.
Kimi Raikkonen set a scorching test pace, without even using the softest available tyre compound; Sebastian Vettel was so confident in his Ferrari that he felt he could afford to play mind games by deliberately lifting off the throttle on his quickest laps.
Share Or Save This Story
More from Ben Anderson
The supercharged Revolution that has piqued an Olympic legend's motorsport taste
How Radical revamped its record-breaking flagship model
Inside the lightweight Czech sportscar making its mark on the UK
Why the Jaguar E-type remains special at 60
How McLaren’s GT3 ‘single-seater’ defies expectations
How Radical's latest machines fare on track
From the archive: Button's last spell with Williams
Driving club racing's Revolution
Latest news
Bezzecchi details “frustrating” time on 2023 Ducati MotoGP bike
Albon: Williams “can’t access” full potential of 2024 F1 car
What we're looking forward to in national racing in 2024
Snorkels “more relevant” for rainy-season WRC Safari
Autosport Plus
How Bruce McLaren's death shaped more than just his F1 team
Why Mohammed Ben Sulayem believes his mission to create a strong FIA is so important
The Beckham clues as to where Verstappen and Red Bull are heading
How Bearman's F1 debut will help Mercedes on its Hamilton replacement call
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.