Toto Wolff said he expected Ferrari to move up the pecking order this weekend after the new FIA technical directive comes into effect.

From this weekend, the sport’s governing body will be taking a closer look at the cars as they look to clamp down on flexi-wings, prompting belief that the pecking order could change as a result.

Toto Wolff details Ferrari curiosity in Spain

Wolff’s Mercedes, along with McLaren, are those to be rumoured at most risk of a drop in performance while Ferrari have been tipped for a move up the order.

That was the suggestion Wolff was following and while he did not comment on his own team, he did say he was going to be taking a close look at Ferrari.

“I think what we have seen is that Ferrari was probably most conservative on flexi-wings,” Wolff said in Monaco.

“What it’s going to do on the pecking order is something we need to look at.

“I’m not sure it will [change things], but another angle of curiosity and I don’t know how it’s going to go.”

His Ferrari counterpart, Fred Vasseur, preferred to look at the grid as a whole and suggested it could be a “gamechanger for everybody.”

“I think Barcelona is on the calendar of everybody in the paddock with the new regulation for the front wing,” Vasseur said ahead of the race in Imola.

“At least we are working on it for ages now and this can be a gamechanger for everybody, because we don’t know the impact on every single team of the new regulation.

“We’ll stick to this (at Barcelona), be focused on this, to have the better explanation of the new front wing.”

While not stating it in public, Vasseur will be hoping the rule change sees a significant boost in performance for his team with Ferrari 177 points adrift from championship leaders McLaren.

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Of the two drivers, it is Charles Leclerc who has made the better start having stood on the podium twice, including P2 in last weekend’s Monaco GP.

Former F1 driver Nick Heidfeld said that in all areas, Lewis Hamilton was behind Leclerc.

“If the car suits him, he can still perform at his best. You saw it in China,” Heidfeld said of Hamilton.

“But compared to Leclerc, he’s currently behind – especially in qualifying.

“And of course, even if some people don’t like to hear that now: He’s no longer the youngest. If you compare him with Hamilton five or ten years ago, you can see the differences.”

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