Red Bull the big favorite in Bahrain? 'They've made a big step'

Next Sunday is the moment that all F1 fans have been looking forward to for months. For the first time in 2022, the lights will go out for the Bahrain Grand Prix. Leading up to the first race weekend, there has been plenty of action over the past three days at the circuit, where Lewis Hamilton won last year's opening race. The week of testing produced many standout performances, but also some disappointment for some teams.

Opinions are widely divided over whether Mercedes will win the opening race again this year. Sky Sports-Analysts Martin Brundle and Anthony Davidson both agree on who will have the fastest car this year. It's not Mercedes, but Red Bull Racing who will be the team the rest will be chasing. "I have absolutely no doubts in my mind that the aero package on the Red Bull took a significant step forward today," explained Brundle.

Mercedes sinks in behind Red Bull

"Red Bull have moved the game on today in terms of raw pace, long run pace." Davidson agrees with the words of his colleague, who until the last day of testing had not expected Red Bull to be the fastest team heading into the first race weekend. "They found something with the ride of the car and it looks very good," he said. 

Behind Red Bull, both expect Ferrari to have made a leap forward. This is then at the expense of Mercedes, who seemed to have not yet solved the problems surrounding porpoising in Bahrain, despite their major changes to the car. "I still feel like there's more in it. But it just doesn't look good to drive and sparked by the bouncing issues they have," Davidson concluded.