Red Bull and Ferrari fastest in practice session apiece; "It's incredibly close between three teams," says Hamilton
Thursday 13 December 2018 12:37, UK
Mercedes admit they have work to do if they are going to beat their rivals at the Bahrain GP, but are also not "so worried" about Ferrari's leading times on a fascinating first day of practice.
The world champions were tipped as heavy favourites coming into the second weekend of the season but didn't top either of the opening sessions, with Red Bull on top in Practice One before Kimi Raikkonen set a searing pace in leading a Ferrari one-two in P2.
After struggling for grip throughout the day and failing to finish higher than fourth on the timesheets, Lewis Hamilton admitted the Silver Arrows had "things to improve on".
Hamilton was also hit with a five-place grid penalty on Friday night for a gearbox change, making victory all the more unlikely given Ferrari's impressive Friday.
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Speaking before his demotion was announced, Hamilton added: "I think what it's shown is that it's incredibly close between the three teams, really close. It's going to be a tough weekend."
Raikkonen and team-mate Sebastian Vettel were more than half a second clear of the chasing pack in Practice Two in an ominous warning to their rivals.
Hamilton was concerned that the Ferraris seemed to be "a little bit quicker on the straights" on Friday, but Toto Wolff felt the times flattered the Italian outfit as they were using more powerful engine settings.
"Ferrari were in a pretty high power mode when they were on the lap. So that isn't so worrying, but it is a good lap," the Mercedes team principal and CEO told Sky Sports F1.
"What we have seen in Melbourne and again here is that at various stages the teams are very close together. I can't really judge."
Are Ferrari really in front?
"If you look at the lap times, yes," was Raikkonen's candid answer, though the Finn also conceded Ferrari had "things to learn, and things to improve" as he headed his familiar warning that Friday's aren't too crucial.
Ferrari are also all too aware that Mercedes can switch their engines up to "party mode" come qualifying day.
But the Scuderia must surely be happy with their day's work.
Despite winning the season-opener in Australia, Vettel was adamant that Mercedes comfortably had the quickest car with the four-time world champion predicting a 0.4second gap.
So, would he be prepared to adjust that theory?
"I don't know what happened today!" admitted Vettel, who revealed he was feeling much more comfortable in his Ferrari after "lacking confidence" in Melbourne.
"It looks like we were a bit quicker than the rest but it depends a bit on the programme. At this point I wouldn't draw any conclusions. Let's see where we are tomorrow."
It promises to be an even second qualifying session of the season.
Red Bull the dark horses?
While Ferrari's one-lap pace could be a match for Mercedes, Red Bull's consistent speed on the longer runs was also impressive.
Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo were almost a second down on Raikkonen's benchmark in P2 but their rivals have taken note after they displayed the strongest race pace in the final 40 minutes of the session.
"Verstappen's long run was the most consistent and the best on the tyres so they have real pace for Sunday at least," said Wolff.
