Rosberg: "At the moment Red Bull has the fastest car"

Nico Rosberg gives Red Bull Racing the benefit of the doubt compared to Mercedes. According to the former world champion, the RB16B is the best car on the grid for the time being. It will take Mercedes a few weeks to catch up after the winter tests.

The analyst told German Sky Sport: "At the moment Red Bull has the fastest car. That makes it very exciting between Mercedes and them. It's going to be interesting in the coming ones to see how Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton are going to find their momentum again," said Rosberg, who believes that something really needs to change on the 2021 car to make that happen.

Between the race in Bahrain and the next Grand Prix in Imola, there is a three week gap and that gives Mercedes an opportunity to come up with updates. However, according to Rosberg we should not expect Mercedes to be at the front all of a sudden. "Verstappen still has the best cards in Italy in any case."

What role can Perez play?

Which team will deliver the winner in Imola does not only depend on how well the car performs. Tactics are also important and a second driver is extremely important. With Valtteri Bottas Mercedes has a driver in their ranks who has proven himself on several occasions. In Bahrain, Perez could not play a role at his debut because of his start from the pit lane. Rosberg hopes Perez can do that for the rest of the year to serve Verstappen.