'Ferrari have been slow for eight years'

Ferrari have been slow for almost a decade and will be powerless to prevent another season of Mercedes dominance, according to Flavio Briatore. Despite the Scuderia entering 2019 with an apparently hefty power advantage over the Silver Arrows, it is the reigning champions that have hit the ground running.

Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas have taken the top two steps on the podium in all three races so far, matching a record set by Williams' Nigel Mansell and Riccardo Patrese in 1992.

Although Ferrari were unlucky not to leave Bahrain with a victory as Charles Leclerc suffered an engine issue and Sebastian Vettel spun out of contention, it is clear that the Scuderia are keen to make changes, with a new front wing, imitating that of Mercedes, already in the works.

However, Briatore sees no reason to believe that Ferrari will prevent Mercedes from taking honours yet again in 2019.

"What's wrong with Ferrari? It's nothing new," former Renault boss Briatore told La 7.

"The car has been slow for eight years.

"Nothing has changed compared to last year. They have not reduced the gaps to Mercedes.

"The usual repertoire of excuses already started in the first race. Mercedes will continue to dominate."

New team principal Mattia Binotto has come under fire for laying down team orders to benefit Vettel from the start of the season.

Briatore believes trying to combine his new role with his previous duties as technical director could prove to be a mistake.

"With Binotto, they run the risk of not having a fully dedicated boss and also becoming lost in the technical area," he said.

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