Ferrari got off to a poor start for Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix trailing behind the pack in both the first and second practice sessions on Friday.
Felipe Massa, using the KERS power-boosting device, was only 8th in the morning session, while teammate Kimi Raikkonen was 10th not using the device.
In the afternoon neither driver, unlike most of the others, could significantly improve their performance with Massa clocking 16th and Raikkonen 18th on the time sheet.
The disputed double-decker rear diffuser did not appear to make a major difference on Friday with reigning World Champion Lewis Hamilton the fastest in the morning without one on his McLaren, while Nico Rosberg had the best time in the afternoon with one on his Williams.
Many observers believe the KERS may be the key to Sunday's race because of the design of the Sakhir track, with its long straightway and heavy breaking corners.
KERS is an acronym for 'kinetic energy recovery system' and is a device designed to exploit energy produced from braking.
Ferrari, which for the first time since 1981 has no points after three races, has no illusions about reversing its fortunes here and does not expect to see a major change until the Formula 1 circus heads to Europe next month, when it hopes to put on a new, much-needed aerodynamic package.
''We need to be realistic when looking at Sunday's race in Bahrain, where we're going to have the same car as we had in China,'' team principal Stefano Domenicali said ahead of the race weekend.
''We knew we would suffer in China and, in all probability, we will suffer again here this weekend. However, what is most important point is that the entire team and everyone at Maranello is working very hard to get out of this situation as soon as possible,'' he added.
Last Sunday in China, Raikkonen fished 10th while Massa, who was in a strong position to clinch third, dropped out due to an electronic problem.
