As the opening race of the season draws closer and closer and all the winter testing is now done and dusted, thoughts turn to just who will be the ones leading the way when the lights finally go out in Bahrain, however, even those that have been present for the testing sessions and those with inside knowledge of what their team is doing, are finding it very difficult to predict...

“I’m not used to making forecasts, but it’s clear that it will be a very balanced Championship, not like last year,” Ferrari’s Stefano Domenicali said. "Before the tests we thought that there might be four teams able to fight for the title. But what we’ve seen so far there might be even more. Furthermore there are still some questions to be solved, such as the tyres’ behaviour at high temperatures and the race strategy management. Just to name a few.”

“With the performances so close together a slight mistake will be enough not to enter Q3, which means that we have to give it our all, all the time: team, drivers, car. We know that we’re fighting against very strong teams from a very different season, who have worked very hard during the winter and who want to win. We’re ready for the challenge ahead!”

The season opener will kick off with the first official practice session of the year ont eh Bahrain International circuit in just nine days time. Log into www.automoto365.com for all the news views and exclusive pics from the event...