Verstappen: 'Red Bull Racing definitely not the favourite'

Max Verstappen had an impressive test in Bahrain, leaving Mercedes behind. The competing team had a lot of problems and finished way behind Red Bull. Verstappen and team principal Christian Horner think Mercedes will recover.

Mercedes may not be favourites because of all the problems during testing, but the Dutch driver from Red Bull and the Brit at the helm of Red Bull are under no illusions. Mercedes are flexible and will certainly scramble before the start of the season Verstappen told Sky F1.

"I don't think we are the favourites When Mercedes win so many championships in a row, I think it is still exactly the same as before we came to testing."

Mercedes remains a team to be reckoned with

Verstappen and Horner agree in that respect. Mercedes is a strong team with two strong drivers on board. Speaking to Sky F1, Horner also indicated that Mercedes remain favourites as far as he is concerned.

"They definitely start this year as the favourite. They've been so strong for the last six, seven years and now they're more or less driving the same car, just a modified version of it. There's a change in the regulations that will obviously have an effect, but I don't think you can deduce much from the tests."

Mercedes did not make too good an impression during the tests with all the problems the car had. Among other things, the gearbox didn't do what it was supposed to and the car seemed quite unbalanced. Whether Mercedes can solve all problems in their car before the start of the 2021 Formula 1 season on 28 March, remains to be seen.