Felipe Massa admits it is unlikely Ferrari's Spanish GP upgrades will immediately translate into the "huge step forward" they need to get back to the front.
Brazilian plays down hopes of Ferrari winning at Barcelona
Felipe Massa concedes it is not very realistic for Ferrari to expect to make the "huge step forward" they need to start challenging the current front-runners on merit in time for next week's Spanish Grand Prix.
The Maranello outfit have trailed the respective pole sitters by around a second on outright qualifying pace at each of the first four rounds of the season with only Fernando Alonso's gritty performances in races keeping them within striking distance of the top of the Drivers' Championship.
This week's Mugello test has therefore been seen as more crucial for Ferrari than any of their usual rivals, with the team hoping a big package of upgrades to the F2012 allows them to get back in podium contention when the racing season resumes at Barcelona next week.
On Thursday's final day of testing Ferrari rolled out a heavily revised rear-end on the car but Massa, who only tried out comparatively minor updates on his sole day in the F2012 on Wednesday, reckons it will be hard to make a massive jump forward in such a short space of time giving all their rivals are also introducing upgrades.
"To close the gap you need to improve much, much more than the others," he told
Sky Sports News.
"The others are working, the others are improving. For sure in three weeks you see cars improving two or three tenths. We need to make a huge step forward.
"Definitely it's a bit too optimistic, but we'll see how it's going to be. The new parts, when we have everything in the car, we can talk better. I think now, before trying, it's just difficult to say."
Massa remains hopeful the required big step will materialise, but is urging caution over expectations for Spain.
He added: "To close the gap to the guys which is winning the races is a little bit too optimistic - but we hope."
