Impressive Mercedes end first test in Bahrain with one-two but play down prospects

[p]Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff made headlines ‌on Wednesday when he said Red Bull were the benchmark, and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/russell-george/xxF56RaN/"]Russell[/a] continued that ‌line by suggesting the team of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/verstappen-max/UV3mgeXB/"]Max Verstappen[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hadjar-isack/8SAk38Ui/"]Isack ‌Hadjar[/a] had a "pretty scary" advantage.[/p][p]Red Bull have suggested it was more likely ‌to be the other way around as Formula One heads into ‌a new engine era with major chassis changes as well.[/p][p][b]"Just wait until Melbourne and see how much power they suddenly find. I already know that right ‌now,"[/b] four-times world champion Verstappen told reporters on ⁠Thursday.[/p][p]Red Bull technical director Pierre ‌Wache said Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren appeared to be ahead. Ferrari's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/leclerc-charles/KlCOSRub/"]Charles Leclerc[/a] ​said both Mercedes and Red Bull looked strong.[/p][p][b]"I think Red Bull showed a little bit more than Mercedes and ​they've been very impressive. I think Mercedes is hiding a massive amount, and only time will tell how much they’ve been hiding,"[/b] ⁠said the Monegasque.[/p][embed guid="8cc3119c-7b59-416d-ba28-59763d6ec9d0" url="https://x.com/F1/status/2022363739995947303" social-type="twitter" /][p]Russell was in ​the car for the first half of Friday's session, and handed over to Antonelli who set a best lap of one minute 33.669 seconds. Russell's time was 1:33.918.[/p][p]Ferrari's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hamilton-lewis/tI5Vpe1h/"]Lewis Hamilton[/a] was third fastest, completing a ‌hefty 150 laps and stopping on track at the end of the session in what may have been a deliberate running out of fuel.[/p][p]McLaren's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/piastri-oscar/MqKAIeUf/"]Oscar Piastri[/a] completed 161 laps, nearly three race distances of the Sakhir circuit, and was fourth fastest with Verstappen fifth and Hadjar sixth.[/p][p]Hadjar sounded a more optimistic note than Verstappen, saying the new Red Bull engine seemed reliable and powerful.[/p][p][b]"If anything it's going a bit better than we hoped for, more on the PU (power ‌unit) side,"[/b] he said.[/p][embed guid="94f3512f-d4e3-4e37-b618-9093eba3f113" url="https://x.com/F1/status/2022372448734179588" social-type="twitter" /][p]Aston Martin's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/stroll-lance/I3p9zz4s/"]Lance Stroll[/a] was an eye-catching 4.4 seconds ​off the pace and faster only than [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bottas-valtteri/bRJJqiGb/"]Valtteri Bottas[/a], who completed ‌a mere 37 laps after an earlier stoppage, for newcomers Cadillac.[/p][p]Teammate [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/perez-sergio/foV8RteD/"]Sergio Perez[/a] managed 42 laps in the second half of the day.[/p][p]Aston Martin managed to do 206 laps across three days, less than half the 422 of champions McLaren and 423 ⁠for Ferrari.[/p][p]The second Bahrain test ⁠runs from February 18-20 ‌with the season starting in Australia on March 8.[/p]