Niki Lauda: 'Ferrari faster than Mercedes'

Niki Lauda has joined fellow Mercedes stablemate Lewis Hamilton in declaring Ferrari the early favourite for 2017.

Before Kimi Raikkonen crashed the new red car on Wednesday, Mercedes team chairman and F1 legend Niki Lauda watched it from the side of the track in Barcelona.

"The Ferrari looks the fastest," he told Auto Motor und Sport. "It is like on rails.

"Our Mercedes is a little tighter in the corners. Ferrari is at the top of my list."

As for Red Bull, Lauda agreed that the energy drink-owned team are yet to truly impress.

"So far, they are not the big surprise," said the Austrian.

The new season gets under way on March 26 in Melbourne.