Pat Fry has downplayed the impact of a hard-fought title race on Ferrari's 2013 preparations but concedes there is "a lot of catching up to do."
Ferrari took the wraps off their F138 at Maranello on Friday, unveiling a car that is a clear evolution of last year's F2012.
That car finished second in last year's Championship after a hard-fought campaign that forced Ferrari to develop it until the final race.
Fry, though, has downplayed the impact that late development race has had on this year's preparations.
"In a way we were fortunate that we had already made changes to our structure, as we were able to keep pushing on with last year's car, while still being in reasonable shape for developing this year's one," said the technical director.
"The biggest challenge was the aerodynamic side of things, as we started maybe three months later than is normal.
"We have quite a lot of catching up to do and you will see quite a lot of changes coming after the launch car: we will have some new parts for the second test and then another big upgrade for the third and final one, so lots of changes coming through."
Those changes will focus mainly on the aerodynamics of the F138, which Fry concedes still have some way to go.
"I am never going to be happy unless we arrive in Melbourne and prove to have the quickest car.
"In terms of the launch car, we have done a good job on the mechanical installation and the design, we have hit all our stiffness targets and saved a lot of weight.
"However, we cannot hide the fact that, aerodynamically, the launch car is a long way behind where we are in the windtunnel today.
"We will have a better idea of what our true performance level is come the third test but I'm not going to be happy until we are clearly quickest."
