Sebastian Vettel had admitted he isn’t “driving at my best” in the “unnatural” Ferrari SF90.

Whether Mercedes were up to their sandbagging tricks or not, the facts were that Ferrari left testing with what looked a clear pace advantage over the team which has dominated Formula 1 since 2014.

However, with the exception of Bahrain, the Silver Arrows have enjoyed a comfortable pace advantage over their rivals, especially in race trim, and that pace along with poor strategic calls and bad luck has forced Ferrari to watch 2019 unravel before their eyes in the early stages, while Mercedes went on to claim four-consecutive one-two finishes.