Questions raised about Mercedes set-up - do they have the race pace in Bahrain?

Questions have been asked about whether Mercedes have found an optimal set-up for both qualifying and racing ahead of today’s F1 Bahrain Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton and George Russell were frequently much stronger in races than in qualifying last year.

Russell qualified in P3 for today’s Bahrain Grand Prix with Hamilton P9 (but only half-a-second behind pole-sitter Max Verstappen).

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff insisted after qualifying that their W15 was set up to excel in the grand prix itself.

“Yes, that’s the noises coming out of them,” Damon Hill reacted on Sky Sports.

“They focus on race pace.

“This cold weather will be a big part of [Saturday’s] story because it’s not what they were expecting.

“It may be that you can go onto the hard tyre and push like crazy, because you have to get some heat into it somehow.

“It’s a big weekend for George, with the news that Lewis is going.

“He wants to establish himself. He’s got a good qualifying in there.

“The race could be very interesting for him.”

Hamilton did not cut the frustrated figure in Bahrain that was occasionally on show last year after qualifying runs.

The seven-time F1 champion was upbeat about the W15’s development.

“Yes, that was positive,” Naomi Schiff reacted. “He ended his statement by saying he hopes to move forward.”

But Schiff noted: “What their issue here has been: after testing, they felt like they had a stronger long run pace.

“They went back home, put the drivers in the simulator to find the adjustments to make the car quicker on a one-lap pace.

“So, it seems for the moment, that it’s one or the other.

“They don’t seem to have a set-up that works for both.

“Let’s see whether it pays off.

“He’s got some cars in front of him - Leclerc, Sainz, Perez - a lot of quick cars that he’s got to get past, if he wants to get to that podium.”

Hamilton hasn’t won an F1 grand prix since 2021 and this will be his final season with Mercedes before joining Ferrari.

Russell, who outscored Hamilton in 2022 but not in 2023, will benefit from his better Friday by lining up six places further forwards on the starting grid.