Ferrari has "rediscovered its motivation" thanks to strong testing form

Ferrari's team principal Maurizio Arrivabene believes his Formula One squad has "rediscovered its motivation" after its strong start to the 2015 pre-season test programme at Jerez last week.

Speaking after the sessions, during which Ferrari topped three of the four days with drivers Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen, the recently-installed team boss voiced his pleasure at the performance and the manner in which the team worked together after a winter of huge upheaval.

"If one makes a comparison to last year, these days of testing have produced encouraging signs," said Arrivabene.

"The team has worked well, both at home and at the track and our drivers did a great job, providing the engineers with valuable feedback.

"But, above all, I am pleased that the group has rediscovered its motivation and team spirit. In terms of performance, I don't think our competitors – one in particular – have shown their true potential over these past days.

"I think we will only discover the truth about them and about ourselves at the last Barcelona test session."

Tech chief pleased with 'solid start'

Ferrari's technical director James Allison added some words of caution, however: "We left [Jerez] without having all our expectations met, simply because we would have liked to have done even more mileage and because you always want to be faster.

"However, having said that, given how it went, overall we can be pleased, because we have had a solid start.

"Now, we are keen to push on with the development work in Barcelona, so as to be ready for the first race in Melbourne."

The next four-day test begins at Barcelona on February 19.