Max Verstappen drove a very impressive time compared to Mercedes during the third free practice in Bahrain. He was no less than seven tenths faster than Lewis Hamilton during his qualifying run. There is a logical explanation for this.

Such a large gap with the competition is of course no real indication of what qualifying will be like. Mercedes has had a difficult preparation, but on Friday it became clear that they have solved some of the instability of the car. After Verstappen they were clearly the second team on Saturday morning.

Mercedes with less power

Helmut Marko explains to Sky Germany after the morning session why the gap was so big. He says Honda was driving with a more powerful engine in the third free practice and he thinks Mercedes was not.

The fast time of Verstappen however was still more than a second slower than during the winter test two weeks ago. In that respect there is still something in store for both teams. We will soon know what the outcome will be.