With Max Verstappen in Bahrain, Red Bull Racing had the fastest car on the grid, which was painfully obvious to the competition during qualifying. The lead of four tenths is in no small part due to Honda, who have made a big step for their final season in F1.
The road to the top has been a long one for Honda with its hybrid engine. The years with McLaren were downright dramatic, but since their powerplant has hung in the back of the Red Bull, the Japanese are showing their true potential. The Honda powerplant has proved competitive and reliable at times over the past two seasons.
Extra power mainly an advantage in qualifying
2021 is the first season where those two crucial components seem to come together. The fact that Honda have brought forward the engine design for 2022 by a year has allowed them to catch up in one go. "To the extent that many in the paddock feel they are on par with - if not ahead of - Mercedes," said Lawrence Barretto of Formula1.com.
On a track where engine power plays a big part, this was the key to Verstappen's fast pole lap, previously Red Bull Racing's Achilles heel. In previous years, Mercedes would up the engine in Q3 and the gap to the competition would suddenly be half a second, but this time the roles were reversed.