Manama - The Italian team, which ended a two-year win drought when Sebastian Vettel won the Malaysian Grand Prix, saw the 'ice man' Kimi Raikkonen roll back the years on Sunday with a resurgent second place behind championship leader Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes in the Bahrain Grand Prix.
This form has lifted them into a strong second place in the constructors' championship behind champions Mercedes and set up the prospect of a thrilling title fight as the series heads back to Europe next month for the Spanish Grand Prix.
Finn Raikkonen, 35, who won the championship with Ferrari in 2007, has rekindled his own form and blended with new boy, four-time champion Vettel this season.
And, for many observers, including Ferrari team chief Maurizio Arrivabene, he is showing the performance levels that will lead to him earning a new contract with the scarlet scuderia.
But talk of Ferrari catching and passing Mercedes in overall performance on a consistent basis may well be premature.
"I'm very happy with the team and I think many people didn't expect, after last year, that we would be in this position this early," said Raikkonen, after grabbing second ahead when Nico Rosberg's Mercedes suffered brake failure at the end of Sunday's race.
"We will start winning more races. We have to be patient and do the same work as we have done so far and we will get there.
"We had decent speed here and I think we just have to keep working and improving the whole package. I'm sure we will get there and we can fight every weekend after that."
He added: "The whole package has gone forward. A big chunk of it is the engine, but you cannot give all the credit to them. The car has improved a lot, there's a lot more down-force, it's handling a lot better.
AFP
