Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto has played down claims the Scuderia will dominate on the straights of Baku.

One of the stories in the opening races of the season has been the power advantage the Italian team has over the field with some putting their engine performance at over 1000 horsepower in qualifying.

And with the street circuit featuring a 2km flat-out section at the end of the lap, as well as two other high-speed straights, most think they start the weekend in Azerbaijan as favourites.

“If you look at the speed of Mercedes [in China] I think they were very strong as well,” Binotto told RaceFans. “So maybe you should ask them how they are so good.

“I don’t think there is much on the straights [between] us and the others."

Instead, the Ferrari chief thinks the key factor will be how each team tries to optimise their car for the Baku challenge.

“Baku is a circuit where you’ve got a different aero configuration certainly so I think it’s not only power units it could be aero configuration," Binotto explained.

"It’s not only the straights in Baku but it’s also a lot of corners. It’s a circuit that’s very difficult in that respect so let’s see.

“I think the competition is very tough, there are races where you may be in front by a few hundredths.”

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The area most believe Ferrari has got their power boost from is in fuels and lubricants, with Red Bull boss Christian Horner saying recently it "smells like grape juice".

In clarifying that claim though, he insists he was not suggesting any foul play.

“Suspicious is probably the wrong word," he said. “They [Ferrari] are obviously doing a good job because they have been, particularly in a straight line, the stand out competitors this year.

"Obviously fuel is part of that performance and I think they are doing a good job. ExxonMobil [Red Bull’s supplier] are seeing some good gains on our side as well, and they are working very hard in partnership with Honda.

“It is a particular area of interest for development, as it is effectively free and open without constraint, so there is definitely performance available in that area.”

PlanetF1 claims Ferrari's long-time supplier Shell claimed a massive 21% of the engine gains last year came from improvements in their products.