Mattia Binotto says his duties as Ferrari technical director have remained the priority since also taking on the position as team boss.

Earlier this week, the Swiss revealed he almost left Maranello during 2018 as he also confirmed reports of disagreements between himself and the man he'd eventually replace, Maurizio Arrivabene.

Questions were asked about the ability of Binotto to conduct both roles, but he admits the position he has held since 2016 carries greater responsibility.

"I think technical matters are still probably the highest priority," Mattia explained. "The car needs to be fast and the rest will follow somehow.

"Obviously it’s still my main focus and still the main focus of a team. The technical side is where you’ve got the main of your activities and where you are putting your efforts.

"It’s true that there are a few more things to be done and to deal with but the technical is still the main priority," he concluded.

Also Read:

• Vettel: Ferrari has trust in Binotto to fix last year's weaknesses
• Charles Leclerc: Ferrari not panicking despite gap to Mercedes in Australia practice

His approach seemed to have worked based on Ferrari's pace in pre-season but, as Mercedes set the timing screens alight on Friday in Australia, Binotto reasserted nothing was certain.

"Not confident at all," he said when asked how he felt about the Scuderia's position. "I think that winter testing is not qualifying, it’s not a racing environment and you never know what the others are running.

"I think our challengers are very strong, these guys on my left [Mercedes] have won the last championships and they are still somehow the team to beat.

"So honestly I think on our side we can only focus on ourselves, step by step try to improve and try to be as fast as we can.