F1 testing in Barcelona: Kimi Raikkonen and Ferrari set pace as preparations now turn to Melbourne

FERRARI driver Kimi Raikkonen has fired a final warning shot ahead of the Australian Grand Prix after a scorching finish to Formula One testing in Spain.

Kimi Raikkonen has given Ferrari plenty og hope ahead of the start of the season.

FERRARI driver Kimi Raikkonen has fired a final warning shot ahead of the Australian Grand Prix after a scorching finish to Formula One testing in Spain.

In the final day on track before the first race of the season at Albert Park in two weeks, the Finn propelled Ferrari at the top of the standings after producing the quickest lap in eight days of pre-season testing at the Circuit de Cataluyna.

Raikkonen bettered teammate Sebastian Vettel’s previous best time from the day before with his lap time of one minute 18.634 seconds, which was half a second faster than the best times of the Mercedes.

While the drivers were reading little into the testing results, the speed of the Ferraris has fuelled expectations that the Scuderia will be a threat to the dominant Silver Arrows, winners of the past three world championships, in Melbourne.

Feerari are looking forward to the opening of the season in Melbourne.

Raikkonen was pleased with the progress Ferrari had made in the off-season and was confident the team could extract more from the car for the first race of the season.

“I think everything was more or less is very positive. The car has been running well and the feeling since the first day has been pretty good with it for both drivers,’’ said Raikkonen, who clocked up 11 laps for the day.

“I think the team has done a good job over the winter in preparing the car and making it reliable. Compared to a year ago we have got much, much better in many ways.

“For sure we can go faster, but that is not always the purpose. For sure there is a lot of things looking afterwards that we can improve and do better.

“That’s a part of testing and we can be quite pleased with how it felt this morning ... it’s early days and we haven’t done a single race yet. So far it’s okay, but we’ll see when the season starts.’’

There was a small blemish on the day for Ferrari, with Raikkonen’s car breaking down late in the afternoon, but the team was able to resolve the issue to get him back on track to finish off the session.

Kimi Raikkonen finished the F1 testing in Spain in style.

The Mercedes pair of Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton finished fourth and fifth respectively in the standings after their half-day each in the car.

While Aussie star Daniel Ricciardo conceded Red Bull was off the pace of the Mercedes and Ferrari following his final day in the car this week, the team showed encouraging pace on the final day with Dutchman Max Verstappen finishing second in the standings.

But the dramas continued for the struggling McLaren, with their engine gremlins leading to two on-track stoppages for frustrated Spanish star Fernando Alonso, who completed just 43 laps.