Ferrari chief Stefano Domenicali believes that the team is already showing strong signs of being a more competitive force in the 2012 Formula One season, despite their dubious form throughout the majority of 2011.
Ferrari struggled with an uncompetitive package for most of last season, only securing a single victory when Fernando Alonso triumphed in the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
The team struggled for pace on the harder Pirelli tyres, and were also blighted by an issue with their wind tunnel, which stifled development.
But the team have overhauled their backroom staff for 2012, and have insisted that they will take a more aggressive approach to their new car's design, in an effort to close the gap to Red Bull and McLaren.
And speaking about the team's progress this week, Domenicali suggested that he was already confident that progress was being made.
"When we see the stopwatch at the first qualifying for the first race, then we will know the answer," he was quoted as saying by Autosport, "But I see some things that give us optimism that we are doing a reasonable job."
He added: "We try to look ahead and change the organisation in order to make sure in terms of ideas and teamwork in the technical office, the work of the windtunnel and simulation, we are more prepared. I'm optimistic because of this.
"Then, as always, we know that the first result where we compare our job with our main competitors is the first qualifying for the first race. But we are working in the right direction."
He added that the team should also be able to benefit from the relative stability in the technical rules from 2011 to 2012.
The only major change in the rulebook concerns the ban on blown diffusers, an area of technology where Ferrari had been seen to lag behind their rivals anyway.
"In terms of regulations, what is the difference from last year and the year before? This year, the rules have changed so that the exhaust effect was an area where we were less strong," he grinned smugly.
The team are under pressure to deliver a better technical package for 2012, after last season became their third season in a row where they failed to secure either title.
Alonso ended fourth in the drivers championship, with Felipe Massa back in sixth place, while the team was a distant third to RBR and McLaren in the constructors championship.
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