Jean Todt: Ferrari not lacking much

© XPB 

FIA President and former Scuderia boss Jean Todt believes the gap between Ferrari and arch rivals Red Bull and Mercedes isn't that big.

Ferrari endured a winless 2016 campaign and also lost its 'best of the rest' status to Red Bull behind Mercedes, but Todt says the Italian outfit , whose destiny he guided from 1994 to 2007, isn't that far behind.

"They are lacking 10% in comparison to Mercedes and 3% to Red Bull, that's not a lot," Todt said in an interview with Italy's Corriere della Sera.

"Ferrari has always fought in the leading group and achieved incredible success when there were no problems with reliability.

"If we had the same reliability as they have now, we would have won the title in 2006 with Michael Schumacher and 2008 with Felipe Massa."

Speaking about his time at the helm of the Scuderia, Todt admitted that the incessant pressure to deliver had got the better of him after 14 years.

"I left Ferrari because I could no longer withstand the pressure associated with the obligation to win every other Sunday. I had reached my goals and was interested in taking on another challenge.

"I have no regrets however. I only think of the past when someone reminds of it."

Andrew Green: Force India's smooth operator

Romain Grosjean column: 2016 showed exciting Haas potential

TECHNICAL: Under the skin of the Williams FW38

Jorge Lorenzo: When a two-wheel champion tests a Mercedes

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter