Ferrari's hopes for 2016 rest on the progress Mercedes has been able to make over the winter, according to team boss Maurizio Arrivabene

Media reports have claimed that even the innovative new white and red SF16-H car might not be enough to prevent Mercedes from winning a third consecutive championship this year.

"The question is not 'How good are we?'" Arrivabene told the Italian newspaper La Stampa. "It is rather 'How strong is Mercedes?' As they are still the best on the field.

"If we can stay for a moment in the language of football, they have the ball and we have to catch them on the wrong foot."

Arrivabene said that Ferrari's engineers and drivers have no doubt the new car is good, but added: "We still lack the comparison with Mercedes under identical conditions.

"I guess in the next four days of testing, we will get a clearer picture of where we stand and where we still need to work."

The new season gets underway on March 20.