Toto Wolff offered an encouraging assessment of Ferrari’s standing after the Scuderia struggled their way through qualifying at the Australian Grand Prix. Charles Leclerc finished the session in P7 while Lewis Hamilton was only eighth-fastest in his first competitive session with his new team.
After pre-season testing in Bahrain, most onlookers had Ferrari second in the pecking order behind McLaren, but the Italian constructor struggled around the Albert Park Circuit as Leclerc and Hamilton wrestled with the SF-25. Despite the frustrating outcome, Mercedes chief Wolff believes that Ferrari are stronger than they showed and are closer to Red Bull and Mercedes than the qualifying times would suggest.
“In the front, you see how close it is,” Wolff told Sky Sports F1. “Between Verstappen, the two Ferraris who were not quick this time around but they are definitely there, there could be six cars that will put up a good fight.
“I think race pace we were all the same apart from maybe the McLaren that were a tiny bit further up. But I don’t think this result is where they [Ferrari] really are, they should probably be a bit higher.”
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