“I don’t think Mercedes have fully shown their hand yet,” Christian Horner skeptical of Mercedes but believes Ferrari is the strongest

“I don’t think Mercedes have fully shown their hand yet,” Christian Horner skeptical of Mercedes but believes Ferrari is the strongest

Red Bull Racing's Team Principal Christian Horner

The pre-season testings have rounded up and have laid a strong foundation for the teams ahead of the opening race of the season- The Bahrain GP. The race will be on the same track as that of three days of testing, giving the drivers a sense of familiarity with the track and their cars going into the race next weekend.

Over the testing, we saw different teams shine and top the timesheets. Of the unusual toppers were the AlphaTauri and Haas. The top teams, Ferrari, Mercedes, and Red Bull, were consistent over the testing in Bahrain and Barcelona.

However, the sentiment is the same in all the camps. All the teams and the drivers believe that the others are hiding their best and are waiting to unleash their maximum on the racing weekend. Earlier, Carlos Sainz, Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, amongst others, shared this sentiment. And now the Red Bull boss Christian Horner joins the list as he said, as quoted by GP Fans, “I think that is fascinating. We have a complete clean sheet of paper, I don’t think Mercedes have fully shown their hand yet. Ferrari look the form team, you would have to say at the moment. Hopefully, we can be in there as well. It looks like Mclaren have a strong car, Alpine have been quick, so it is impossible to predict.”

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Christian Horner’s view of Ferrari and Mercedes going into the first racing weekend

Christian Horner
Red Bull Racing’s Team Principal Christian Horner

Red Bull was clearly one of the fastest and most stable cars on the track over three days. And the team insisted that they achieved so “without trying.” This shows the preparedness of the team and their confidence in heading for the first race. 

However, Christian Horner believes Ferrari is the best team on the grid so far and hopes that Red Bull could be there too. He said, “For me, [Ferrari is] the car that looks the most settled on circuit at the moment. I think they have had a very strong testing period so far, both in Barcelona and in Bahrain so far. They have looked extremely competitive for everyone on track.”

Speaking of the development of the cars, Christia said, “You have to remember these cars are still very immature. The rate of development will be fast and intense and I expect that to change and Mercedes will be a huge factor in this championship, I have no doubt.”

The 2022 season begins next weekend in Bahrain. The teams seem to be making rapid progress as we have already witnessed the changes in the cars within a span of two weeks of pre-season testings in Barcelona and Bahrain.

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