Guenther Steiner, the Team Principal of the Haas F1 Team, believes the 2017 Ferrari power unit is at least on par with that of Mercedes, if not better.
The Scuderia Ferrari team won with Sebastian Vettel in the season opening Australian Grand Prix last weekend, while Romain Grosjean showed good pace for the Ferrari-powered Haas team at Albert Park, with the pace deficit that Ferrari have suffered with in recent years to Mercedes all but gone.
Steiner feels that the Grand Prix in Australia could have been a turning point in the rivalry between the two engine suppliers within Formula 1, with Ferrari possibly having the advantage, at least in the early stages of the year, over Mercedes, although he knows the development race will be fierce this year now that the token system has been scrapped.
“With the engine, there is not just one area that is better, it’s the whole package that has improved from last year,” said Steiner ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix. “It’s now as competitive as a Mercedes engine, if not better.
“Ferrari won in Australia, but everybody is developing and trying to get better. It’s always going to be a development race. They’ve made a good step, and without that help from Ferrari, we wouldn’t be where we are.”
