Ferrari and Mercedes Set to Battle in Bahrain as Teams Keep Strategies Close

On the opening day of track action in Bahrain, Mercedes led the timings with Lewis Hamilton in first and George Russell in second ahead of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc. Sainz emphasized that teams do not reveal their true performance during pre-season testing reinforcing the unpredictability of lap times.

While Mercedes’ strong performance surprised Leclerc, he reserved judgment until qualifying to assess the accurate picture of the teams’ competitiveness. Despite the uncertainty surrounding Mercedes, Leclerc is confident that Ferrari can be competitive at the front during qualifying and the race.

Ferrari had a positive testing period and Leclerc noted the improved driver-friendliness and understanding of the SF-24 compared to the previous year. He expressed optimism about the SF-24’s performance in Bahrain.