Toto Wolff makes Ferrari claim that will buoy Scuderia fans

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has said that he feels as though Ferrari has the strongest engine going into the 2022 Formula 1 season.

The new campaign is drawing ever nearer with the first set of test days completed last week at the Catalunya circuit in Barcelona.

Indeed, Ferrari looked one of the stronger teams with good pace and reliability as the miles clocked up, though it’s of course very early to make any firm predictions about prospects this season.

That said, Toto Wolff clearly feels that the Prancing Horse are looking in good shape, with him saying that their engine is arguably the strongest in the field.

Speaking to Auto, Motor und Sport, Wolff said simply:

“We have the feeling that Ferrari has the strongest engine at the moment.”

Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc will certainly be hoping that that is the case this season as they go in pursuit of race victories in 2022.

Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto, though, has looked to pour cold water on expectations with him saying that the Scuderia are outsiders for the championship this year, given Mercedes’ recent dominance and Red Bull’s return to the fore in 2021.

Clearly, then, there’s the usual playing down of hopes at this time of the season and it just remains to be seen come the Bahrain Grand Prix on March 20th where the land truly lies.