“Tend not to show all their cards” - Ferrari stunned by Mercedes pace in Bahrain
Ferrari drivers admit their surprise at Mercedes' pace in practice at F1 Bahrain Grand Prix
Ferrari have admitted their surprise at Mercedes’ speed on Thursday in Bahrain.
Lewis Hamilton topped the timesheets, ahead of George Russell, in the second practice session for the F1 Bahrain Grand Prix.
It represented a major jolt of optimism in the new W15 which Mercedes hope will bring better results than the beleaguered cars of the past two years.
“It just shows you can never look into testing,” Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz told F1.com.
“Because people tend to not show all their cards, and it’s clear Mercedes are going to be in the fight,.
“Red Bull in the long run were a lot quicker than in the short run, so I expect them to be also stronger tomorrow and Sunday.”
Ferrari, rather than Mercedes, entered Bahrain tipped to compete closest to the Red Bulls (which they may still do, from qualifying and beyond).
But on Thursday in FP2, Sainz was restricted to P4 and Charles Leclerc P9.
Max Verstappen was sixth, and Sergio Perez 10th.
“Mercedes look strong, which is a bit of a surprise,” said Leclerc.
“But we don’t know which fuel [level] they were running, so I think we’ll have all our answers tomorrow.
“At least on our side… no bad surprises.
“No good surprises either, just exactly as we expected the car to be. So we went through our programme.
“In FP2, it was a bit more… I mean, I did a small mistake on my fast lap, and it’s a one-lap tyre, so then that was it.
“But apart from that, it’s all about tomorrow now, trying to focus to do a step forward.”
Leclerc won in Bahrain two years ago and still expects Ferrari to fight at the front this weekend.
“I would be surprised if that is not the case, for sure,” Leclerc said.
“I expect to be there with the others; the only question mark is obviously Red Bull, how far ahead they are in front.
“But with the others, I would be surprised if we are not in the mix, yes.
“I feel quite good with the car and it’s a much better start compared to last year, where last year we arrived at the first race and it was very difficult to know what exactly was the right window where we could optimise our car.
“[Thursday] it’s not the case, we know we’re in the right window for performing at our best with this specific car, and now it’s all about tomorrow, to try and anticipate the conditions of tomorrow and make the best out of this weekend.”
Hamilton showered the W15 with praise, noting how the seat position had been adjusted to answer one of his key criticisms of the 2023 car.
But how Mercedes’ qualifying pace stands up to scrutiny on Friday will give an even greater indication of the W15’s development.
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
