Niki Lauda agrees with Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas that Ferrari’s relative performance in pre-season testing has been impressive.

The F1 legend and non executive chairman of Mercedes was on site yesterday at the Circuit de Catalunya, a keen observer of the cars out on the track.

While it was an unsatisfactory end of the session for Ferrari, with Kimi Raikkonen hitting the barriers at Turn 3, the SF70H’s speed and attitude did not escape Lauda’s notice.

“The Ferrari looks the fastest,” he told Auto Motor und Sport.

“It is like on rails. Our Mercedes is a little tighter in the corners. Ferrari is at the top of my list,” Lauda insisted.

As for Red Bull Racing, Lauda agreed that the Milton-Keynes outfit is yet to show its true potential.

“So far, they are not the big surprise,” said the Austrian.

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