Kimi Raikkonen has quipped that Alfa Romeo could be anywhere between fifth and last in Formula 1 due to the anticipated closely-contested nature of the midfield.
Renault, Toro Rosso, Haas, McLaren, and Alfa Romeo drivers all posted best times within a few tenths during suspected low-fuel runs on the softest tyre during testing in Spain.
Racing Point was a little further off, with the struggling Williams adrift at the back of the pack.
“I think they’ve [Alfa Romeo] been doing a good job the last year already, and just growing up,” he said.
“But nothing is guaranteed; if we are fifth or 10th who knows.
“I think it’s going to be quite close between the mid-pack and if do your job well you’ll be higher up than on off-days when you don’t do it well so we’ll just do the best job we can and go for the first race.
“We’ll give our best and see what we get in our first race and work from there.”
Raikkonen was nevertheless lifted by the progress made with Alfa Romeo’s C38 through pre-season testing.
“We’re not 100 per cent where we want to be but I think if you ask anybody they’re going to say the same,” he said.
“I think there’s nothing negative. Obviously, we want to improve as anybody, there’s always things to improve on the car, we don’t know where we are and we’ll find out very soon.”
