Lando Norris has declared Ferrari were “already title contenders” at the start of the season, despite only clinching its first win at round seven.
Lewis Hamilton secured his maiden victory for the Italian team in Barcelona earlier this month as he continued his strong run of form in the opening phase of the campaign.
The season has largely been dominated by Mercedes, who enjoyed a six-race win streak prior to Hamilton's victory.
Ferrari introduced a significant car upgrade in Barcelona, which helped lift it into the mix with Mercedes - but Norris insisted the car was already in competitive shape prior to the installation of new parts.
“I don’t think they [Ferrari] have made a lot of progress since the beginning of the year,” Norris told media including RacingNews365.
“They were one of the best teams the whole season so far. They’ve certainly made progress.
“They weren’t on pole in Barcelona, so it’s still clear that the Mercedes is probably all-around the best car.”
Ferrari will field an upgraded power unit this weekend in Barcelona as it seeks to address a key weakness in its arsenal.
Should the new engine prove successful, Norris stated Ferrari could shift closer to the “favourite” tag.
“I don’t know how much the engine upgrade is going to help them this weekend, but it’s clear that the biggest time loss is the straights,” he said. “Probably half of it is power.
“A good amount of it is drag, and the fact that they’re better in the corners is also because they’re a little bit more draggy in the straights.
“They have the ability to make a big step with the engine to easily become the favourites. But they’ve been good the whole season, so it’s not like they’ve suddenly turned up and stepped up.
“They’ve had one of the best cars, if probably not the best car in a lot of places so far, but they’ve been losing out quite a bit from the power unit.
“They were already title contenders, it's not really a question of 'are they now?'
“They have been the whole season.”
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