Hamilton Ranks Mercedes' Speed Compared To Rivals After Bahrain Disappointment
F1Sunday, 03 March 2024 at 19:30
The seven-time World Champion evaluated the pace of his Mercedes W15 compared to the remaining teams on the grid after the 2024 Bahrain Grand Prix.
The first race of the 2024 season is over, and now we have a much better idea of how all teams compare to each other. What is clear after the Bahrain Grand Prix is that Red Bull is in front.
Max Verstappen, starting from the pole, finished first with a 20-second lead over everyone, and Sergio Perez, starting from fifth, finished in second place, completing a one-two for Red Bull.
Behind Red Bull, however, it seemed to be a bit more even regarding the race pace. Ferraris seemed to be the best of the rest, but Mercedes drivers both struggled with technical issues, so making a fair assessment here might be more challenging.
Lewis Hamilton, who started from P9, finished in P7, 50 seconds behind Verstappen, two seconds behind the best McLaren of Lando Norris, and 25 seconds behind the best Ferrari of Carlos Sainz.
Asked where he sees Mercedes in the pecking order, the seven-time World Champion told the media at the Bahrain International Circuit after the race:
"Too early to tell. I think the set-up wasn't ideal today, and we're very close to McLarens."
"But if I had qualified better I would probably easily have finished fifth today even with the problems. So take that out of it, and I probably wouldn't have been crazy far behind a Ferrari but we're still third quickest."
While the seven-time World Champion asserted his team seems to be the third quickest after the season's first race, his team principal, Toto Wolff, said the overheating issues could easily cost their cars around five-tenths per lap.
Considering what Wolff said, Silver Arrows might have been up there fighting with Ferrari. Right now, it seems the closest battle this year will be the battle for the second place in the Championship again.
What do you think? Can any of the teams make a step so big that it would be able to challenge leading Red Bull at some point in the season?
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