The 2022 season is finally here and all F1 teams are gearing up for the qualifiers today, for the first race. Meanwhile, Ferrari continues to impress in the FP1 and FP2. But the Maranello base is still cautious about the struggling Mercedes.

The German constructor is undoubtedly the best F1 team after winning the constructor title eight years in a row. However, the great Mercedes were not impressive this year in the pre-season testing. The poor performance continued even during the first two practice sessions yesterday in Bahrain. Both Silver Arrows drivers even accepted that there are major issues and they are not ready to win in the desert heat.

Ferrari is among the favorites right now to win the first race of the season in Bahrain. The Ferrari boss responded when asked whether the German constructors are still a threat with, “I’m sure about that.”

Mattia Binotto on F1 teams sandbagging in Friday practice

The legendary Italian teams showcased some impressive runs in the Friday practices. Meanwhile, Binotto revealed that the Italian 2022 challenger still has a lot to show. They didn’t push their car to the max and can get better results in the Saturday Qualifiers. He also believes that like them, the other teams also didn’t push much yesterday. Therefore, he believes not only Red Bull, who topped the FP2, but also the struggling Mercedes will showcase their true pace on Saturday.

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Mattia Binotto shared, “So today’s indications are not a final result yet. But it’s a good sign, then in qualifying, we will all unleash the full power and we will see where we will be. The testing showed we could be fast, as well as they showed Red Bull were fast too, maybe even more than us. They also showed Mercedes were very close and I believe these first sessions confirmed this trend.”

Ferrari power unit dominance in 2022

The Italian constructor especially focussed on the power unit for the 2022 season. Because there will be an engine freezer from this season until the end of the 2025 season. It seems the power units Ferrari developed are already fruitful. The Maranello base was impressive throughout the pre-season testing and also in the Friday practice in Bahrain.

At the moment, Ferrari is the favorite to win the first race. However, Ferrari is not the only team that got good results with the new power unit. The legendary Italian constructor also supplies their power unit to Haas F1 and Alfa Romeo. Both teams have also showcased drastic improvement this season compared to their poor form last season.

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Five cars with the Ferrari engine inside finished in the Top 10 yesterday at the FP2. It will be fascinating to see whether 2022 is the season when the Italian F1 giants can bring back their glory days.