Kimi Raikkonen thinks the SF16-H is already better than its predecessor.

Raikkonen took over testing duties from Sebastian Vettel on Wednesday in Barcelona and completed 78 laps on a day cut in half by a fuel system issue. The Finn says his first impression was good despite having less time behind the wheel than planned.

"Obviously not the ideal start, we lost half a day," Raikkonen said. "Sometimes you have issues that you have to fix and it took a bit long but we managed to do quite a few laps. We haven't changed the car a single bit yet so were trying to do small runs at first and get used to the car a bit and then longer runs in the afternoon.

"The first feeling is quite nice. Not the best day overall but I'm sure it will be good, we just need more time in the car and obviously we are working on different things and trying better things. I'm sure it's going to be a better car -- it's already a better car than the end of last year so we are doing the right things.

"Overall the handling is good, there were many areas we felt we had to improve from last year and that was one area, there are many other areas. We are now in the start of getting it ready and be happy with everything. There's still a lot of work to be done to produce a good car but I'm sure it's going to be good."

Raikkonen has struggled since the introduction of the V6 turbos and with successive Ferrari's lacking the strong front end he likes in a car.

Asked if the SF16-H was better in that area, Raikkonen replied: "Who knows if it's going to be better? Obviously that's the aim but I'm already sure the car is better than last year. We have improved in many areas and it's very early days, especially for me, with the car. Yes, there is more front end but its not always just the front end, I think we still have to work on the balance but we haven't changed a single thing on the car yet. Now I'm happy so far but there's still a lot of things to put in the correct places and not just jumping in the car and not doing anything to it. It feels pretty OK so we'll fine tune things."

Raikkonen also brushed off his delayed start to the day, saying he did not mind a shortened schedule if it meant avoiding a bigger problem.

"It's painful to lose a lot of time in the morning or half a day but I would rather take that and we manage to do some laps -- quite a few laps actually -- than having a silly issue and missing the whole day."