Despite the feeling in the paddock that all is not entirely well, Fernando Alonso says that Ferrari is on target, though he admits there is still much work to be done.

While testing times should be taken with a large pinch of salt, it has been noticeable the extent to which Ferrari has been playing down the results thus far.

Speaking at a promotional event at Jarama, scene of Gilles Villeneuve's sensational win for the team in 1981, two-time champion Alonso appeared to play down fans expectations.

"We are continuing with development of the new car," he said. "Maybe we are only taking small steps forward, but they are coming constantly. In Barcelona, the F2012 was better than it had been in Jerez and it will be better still this week and even more so in Melbourne.

"There is still a lot of work to do," he continued, "but as of today, there is no reason why we should not be ready for the first race.

"It's true there are only four more days of testing and we will have to also make use of the first Friday at a race weekend to continue with development, but the car is reasonably complex and needs time, as was the case over the first eight days.

"It is definitely too early to say where we are compared to the others," he admitted. "Red Bull is very strong, but that's hardly a surprise. For our part, it will be useful to get off to a good start as this always takes the pressure off the team, but if we do not turn out to be competitive enough to challenge for victory immediately, then it's important that it's not just one person doing the winning.

"If one thinks about it, the difference in performance between us and Red Bull in 2011 was not that different to what it had been in 2010 and yet two years ago, we came to the last race leading the championship, while last year we were hardly ever in the title fight."