Ferrari concede that McLaren are the team to beat in Monaco especially after struggling with their new tyres in Thursday's practice sessions.
McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton topped the timesheets on Thursday while Ferrari had to settle for third and fourth places with Kimi Raikkonen leading team-mate Felipe Massa.
It was the expected outcome with many predicting that McLaren's MP4-23 would be the better suited car for the Monte Carlo street circuit.
However, it wasn't just Ferrari's F2008 that battled for pace. The team also struggled with their new Bridgestone tyres, which head of trackside operations Luca Baldisserri concedes could cost them dearly in Saturday's qualifying session.
"We were expecting a particularly difficult weekend and these three hours of free practice have not give us any reason to change our minds," Baldisserri said.
"While it is true that our preparations for this race have produced some results, it is equally true that our main rivals have not been twiddling their thumbs either and therefore have turned up here in very competitive shape.
"Our weak point today (Thursday) was mainly to do with performance on new tyres, especially on the softer tyre. We must carefully study the day and try and make the necessary changes so as to be competitive at the highest level.
"On top of that, we must also keep a careful eye on the weather, which could be the decisive factor for Saturday's qualifying and especially in Sunday's race."
This is a sentiment echoed by Massa, who reckons the McLarens could dominate this weekend's grand prix.
"Our rivals are very strong here, even allowing for the unknown factor of fuel loads," he said following Thursday's two practice sessions.
"I wasn't able to do a good lap on the soft tyres, but things went well on the hard ones: we have to study the situation calmly and try to get all the details right.
"If we compare today (Thursday) with the same time last year, I think we have made a step forward. We have changed the settings on the car compared to the past and now we hope we will see the benefits of this choice."
Team-mate Raikkonen, though, wasn't too fazed by McLaren's pace. "We have to look at the data carefully to understand how to improve," he said.
"There is plenty of time to do that and so I am not particularly worried, at least at the moment."
