The new season started just a month ago and already Mercedes' morale seems to be down. After a Red Bull domination in Bahrain and again in Saudi Arabia (although the former world champion started from P15), Mercedes ' results were anything but disappointing, with both drivers sitting just outside the podium without seeming to want more. GPblog has collected all the reactions of the German media after the second Grand Prix of the season here.

AutoBild

Bianca Garloff acknowledged Red Bull's dominance in this race, which saw two podium finishes:"Red Bull can only beat themselves at the moment: the one-two in Bahrain was followed by a one-two in Saudi Arabia". She thinks they got the maximum out of it, especially because Verstappen drove from 15th place to second. For the AutoBild journalist,"When the competition fails, it's just the team-internal duel that provides the excitement," she said, alluding to Max's "stolen" fastest lap on the last lap.

Frederik Hackbarth, another AutoBild journalist, also praised Alonso for his 100th podium, which was taken away from him for a while."By achieving his 100th podium in F1 , he hasadvanced into an elite circle: After all, only five other drivers have achieved that before him." On the other hand, he highlights the frustration of both Mercedes and Ferrari:"Although Charles Leclerc ploughed through the field like Verstappen at the start of the race, the Scuderia did not finish higher than sixth for Carlos Sainz and seventh for Leclerc, still behind Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton. The reason is early pit stops". Russel also had a chance to finish on the podium as Alonso was given a penalty, which was then taken back, leaving Russel to celebrate unsuccessfully.

SkySport Germany

"Red Bull celebrating a double victory in Saudi Arabia. Very clear, very dominant. But you could already guess that in the run-up after the performance in Bahrain and in the free practices." These are the words of Sky expert Timo Glock about Red Bull Racing. However, he doesn't think that this one-two and Max's fastest lap on the last lap will do any good:"It will lead to a battle between the two. That's where we can expect there to be friction."

Talking about Mercedes, he seems a bit more positive:"Surprisingly, this allowed Mercedes to finish ahead of Ferrari in the end. The Mercedes seems to be working better in the race at the moment." So what will decide who is behind Red Bull and Aston Martin?"It currently depends on which track and which conditions suit who better."

Motorsport-Total

Motorsport-Total editor Christian Nimmervoll takes a close look at Max's performance and Ferrari's disappointment."Red Bull is currently dominating the premier class, while Ferrari was even only the fourth force behind Aston Martin and Mercedes yesterday. Team boss Frederic Vasseur also admits that the gap in the race in Jeddah looked 'huge'." Reviewing their database, the editors also noted that"this was Red Bull's most successful start to the season in the team's history, with two one-two finishes in the first two races. The Bulls had never managed that before."

And what about Mercedes? For him, they need a lot of work."Red Bull should not be within reach [for them] in Australia either". Lewis definitely doesn't seem happy with the car, and the problems need to be solved, because"The crucial thing at this stage of the Formula One season is to follow up every clue."

Finally, Christian Nimmervoll describes Verstappen's overtaking manoeuvre on Hamilton as a "demonstration of power"."Particularly sobering for Hamilton must have been that situation on lap 11/12 when, lying in eighth place at the time, he was unable to defend himself against Max Verstappen, who was approaching from behind."

RTL Deustchland

"Brutal dominance by the Formula 1 cops: With their commanding double victory at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, world champion Max Verstappen andhis Red Bull team put their downright frightening superiority on display." This is how Red Bull's dominance is described in the German media.

Some other editorial comments concerned Ferrari:"In sixth and seventh, Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari were again not even close to keeping up with the Red Bull duo at the front" . And if the audience was looking forward to the only active German driver of the season, they are also disappointed:"Nico Hülkenberg missed the points in twelfth place in the Haas also in the second race after his comeback as Mick Schumacher's successor."

For RTL, there is only one logical future:"The conclusion of the second race of the season is that the power bulls can only beat themselves this season.