Alfa Romeo could be a team to watch in Formula 1's midfield after a strong pre-season test in Bahrain.

The Swiss team tied with AlphaTauri for the most laps across the three days with 422, while Kimi Raikkonen posted the fourth-best time.

Alfa was expected to be racing Haas and Williams towards the back of the grid, and their performance certainly caught the attention of George Russell, who declared them as the "most surprising team" in 2021 so far.

And even inside the Italian-branded outfit, optimism was also high that this year's car is a good step forward.

“The new regulations and the new tyres were intended to lead to a drop in performance, but I must say that I have seen a lot of progress,” Antonio Giovinazzi told Motorsport.com.

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“The front of the car is more responsive, especially in low-speed sections, and in general the feeling is positive in all types of corners. So far I think it’s a good job, but we have to wait for the first qualifying of the season to get a precise idea of where everybody is at.”

Another area Alfa was hoping for a big boost was from the engine after suffering along with the other Ferrari-powered teams last year.

“Yes, the power unit has improved, it was an immediate feeling," Giovinazzi added.

“This will undoubtedly give us a helping hand to get closer to the teams ahead of us in the Constructors’ Championship last year.”

The Italian's comments were also echoed by teammate Raikkonen.

“Times in testing don’t mean anything and, right now, we don’t know how all the other teams are performing,” he said. “But we know how our car does and feeling wise, it is better than last year.

“I guess we are faster than at our best at the end of 2020, but whether that translates into a better performance in the races, that we will have to see.”

As for expectations, Giovinazzi hopes Alfa Romeo can be in a position to capitalise on opportunities in a way they couldn't last year.

“It’s crucial for a team like ours to be ready when special conditions occur in a race, but to do it you still need a good car,” he explained.

“If we think back to Pierre [Gasly’s] race win at Monza, anyway his car was strong, when he found himself in the lead of the race he kept a McLaren behind, and if you have no rhythm you can not do that.

“To seize an opportunity you have to have a good car, and that’s our goal. Get closer to the midfield teams, and make ourselves as ready as possible to take a chance.”

If that happens then... “My dream would be to score a podium with this team, that would be at the top of our list," the 26-year-old added.

"But first we need to see where we are in terms of performance and speed. I am confident we can do very well this year.

“I want to keep improving, like I did last year compared with the first season, and do another step forward. As I have said before, scoring a podium would be the ultimate dream. It is what this team deserves.”