'Still time for Ferrari to fight' Mercedes, says Brawn

Ross Brawn believes that “Ferrari still have time to fight” Mercedes in the 2019 championship race, despite not finishing higher than second in any of the opening four races in Australia, Bahrain, China, and Azerbaijan, with the Silver Arrows securing four 1-2 finishes.

In pre-season testing, the Scuderia impressed with their huge pace, but they have not transitioned their performance into the season proper, with Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas looking the most likely title contenders.

Defiant Binotto says Ferrari have 'excellent' spiritRead more

Brawn thinks that, as its still early days in the campaign, Ferrari have time to bounce back.

"As the first tranche of races that make up this long championship comes to an end in Baku, one could ask oneself if we can still expect to see at least two teams fighting it out for the titles," the F1 managing director of motorsport wrote in his Azerbaijan GP debrief.

"At the moment, a negative response would seem logical, given that Mercedes has taken four consecutive one-two finishes, but I feel there is still time for Ferrari to fight back, as it showed in two of the four races that it has what's needed to win.

"The duel between the two Mercedes drivers is definitely wide open, with Bottas and Hamilton only separated by the point scored by Bottas for fastest lap in Australia."

With just four races gone, Ferrari are 74 points adrift of the Silver Arrows in the constructor’s championship.

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