Fernando Alonso has admitted Ferrari currently has the “sixth or seventh” best formula one car.

The Spaniard took issue with a pre-season analysis in the specialist press that predicted the famous Maranello based team’s F2012 car was better only than the three struggling backmarkers and perhaps one or two other minor rivals.

“I believe it was a German newspaper. I think we could do a press conference about what was written and we would say more mistakes than wise moves,” Alonso said in Bahrain, according to AS newspaper.

He did admit, however, that the prediction Ferrari would the “sixth or seventh” team was “about right”.

“Now we have to improve,” the 30-year-old insisted.

Ferrari is “wise” to have poached an experienced engineer from McLaren, according to former grand prix driver Jos Verstappen.

Briton Pat Fry, McLaren’s former joint chief engineer who was with the Woking team for 17 years and recently working on the 2011 car, will start his new role at Ferrari next week as assistant technical director.

“Getting Pat Fry is a wise move,” Verstappen wrote in a column for the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf.

“Like last season, you could say again that Ferrari’s performance has not been good enough.

“It is not the drivers’ fault — in particular, I estimate Alonso very highly.

“But in recent years Ferrari has lot some very important people and I think they are still affected by that,” he added.

(GMM)