Lando Norris has feared Ferrari would start embarrassing the rest of the Formula 1 grid if the Italian team made big engine gains this season.
Lewis Hamilton’s maiden Ferrari win at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix was the team’s first of the season.
The seven-time world champion had repeatedly stated his belief Ferrari has the best aerodynamic package on the grid, but that the car is currently being held back by a lack of outright power.
Mercedes had been unbeaten until Sunday’s result.
Norris, who finished third behind Hamilton and Mercedes’ George Russell, is worried Ferrari could be similarly dominant if it makes improvements to the engine.
“We’re lucky that Ferrari doesn’t have a better engine at the minute,” the reigning champion told Sky Sports.
“If they had a better engine, they’re dominating. They’re the class of the field in terms of cornering performance at the minute.
“We’re not even close to them. It’s the realistic point of it. We’re a long, long way from where we need to be.
“If they make improvements on the engine side, then they’ll embarrass everyone. We need to really get our heads down and see what improvements we can do.”
Norris’ prediction is especially noteworthy given recently announced engine upgrade allocations granted by the governing FIA.
The FIA spent the opening races of the season measuring the benchmark internal combustion engines (ICE) of the five manufacturers, and then ranking the other four accordingly on a percentage deficit scale.
That ranking then grants the other four manufacturers extra upgrades through extra money in the cost cap.
The ranking, known as Additional Upgrade and Development Opportunities, or ADUO, saw Red Bull’s engine marked as the leading ICE.
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Mercedes was judged to the next best, while Ferrari was ranked even further back -- the Italian manufacturer should have multiple additional opportunities to upgrade the engine this year and next, as the FIA marked them to be 4% behind the benchmark.
Red Bull has queried its position as the benchmark engine, having been anticipating to be ranked behind Mercedes, and the FIA is expected to give all five manufacturers a detailed breakdown of the measuring formula used.
Norris’ McLaren team boss Andrea Stella -- who worked at Ferrari in its Michael Schumacher heyday -- agreed with the suggestion his old team has a very strong car design.
“We see, especially in the medium speed corners, that Ferrari is the fastest, not necessarily the fastest in the straights,” Stella said.
Performance in Formula 1 is usually a mix between outright engine power and chassis design, although circuit characteristics can shift the balance of which one is more important race to race.
Hamilton and Ferrari downplayed the suggestion they are back in the championship fight after his breakthrough win.
