The teams have all launched their 2017 cars, and pre-season testing is underway in Barcelona as of Monday morning, but nothing is likely to convince Williams' Felipe Massa who will have the edge in Melbourne just yet.
"The Mercedes is very beautiful to look at," said Massa, who has put F1 retirement on hold to resume racing for Williams after Valtteri Bottas' departure for the Silver Arrows. "The Ferrari has various things on it, while you could see almost nothing of the Red Bull from the video they released.
"In Melbourne we will have a better idea, but here we may already get some idea," he told Brazil's Globo. Of his aborted retirement, the Brazilian said: "When I announced my retirement I said that I was leaving because I didn't want to race on a small, under-resourced team. Everything changed when Claire Williams phoned me."
Massa has also revealed that he last drove an F1 car in January, whilst his new team-mate Lance Stroll continued the test programme that has prepared him extensively for his debut in the team's 2014 machine.
"I went to Bahrain, drove one day for him to create references for him and the team," he explained. "He is very fortunate to be able to test before these (official) tests, which is very difficult these days in F1, and especially important because this year the difference between Formula 3 and F1 is very great.
"I met him when he was 8, and I know quite a lot about his father too. Knowing that boy is my team-mate today is very pleasant for me."
Mason Hawker
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Bahrain International Circuit - Winter testing
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