The ace in the hole for Ferrari is that, unlike McLaren, they completed six days of testing at the Sakhir International Circuit in the desert in Bahrain in early February and the red cars were in sparkling form.
Raikkonen screamed round the track a full two seconds faster than last year’s pole-position time and the Ferraris made the Toyotas, who were the only other team to join them at the test, look like escapees from the nearby camel farm.
At the time, Raikkonen was in ebullient mood about the F2008. “I went quicker and quicker and I know I can easily improve a bit more because the car is excellent,” he said. No surprise, then, to hear his team principal, Stefano Domenicali, recalling that test as the team moved on from Kuala Lumpur.
“It’s clear that we’ll take advantage of this, most of all during the preparation for the [Bahrain] grand prix,” Domenicali said. He noted that conditions will be different - hotter, no doubt - but added: “Having spent more days there compared to the others is something positive.”
“There’s no team that can push more than we can - I’m quite confident. I wasn’t surprised by the Ferraris. They were strong here last year and have a good car. They were a lap shorter than us in qualifying, but they are going to keep pushing,” Hamilton said.
| 
|