Max Verstappen poked fun at Mercedes after Lewis Hamilton and George Russell struggled in qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix.
The world champion will start Sunday's race second on the grid, sandwiched between the Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. His Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez will start fourth, ahead of Hamilton.
Russell however, is down in ninth, ironically out-qualified by Valtteri Bottas, the man he replaced at the Silver Arrows. The Finn starts sixth, with returning Haas driver Kevin Magnussen and Alpine's Fernando Alonso between him and Russell.
Speaking to reporters afterwards, world champion Verstappen was asked if he was downhearted to see the Mercedes pair continue to be under-par, after a difficult time in pre-season testing. “Very, very,” he was quoted as saying by formula1news.co.uk.
Indeed, Hamilton, 37, may be hell-bent on winning an unprecedented eighth world crown after missing out on the title in controversial circumstances last year, but he has already downplayed his chances of competing for wins at the start of the season. Prior to qualifying, he said his team wouldn't be competing for wins "anytime soon."
The 2022 season represents one of seismic change in the sport, following the introduction of new technical regulations. And in contrast to the British icon, Verstappen seems satisfied with the early signs at Red Bull.
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“It was a bit hit and miss, Q2 seemed quite good, then Q3 was a bit more of a struggle to get the balance together, but nevertheless I think it was alright," he continued.
“We have a good car, a good race car as well which at the end of the day is the most important but yeah it was a good day overall. It’s a good start to the new era.”
Saturday belonged to Ferrari though, with Leclerc and Sainz backing up the hype of their testing displays in Barcelona and then the Middle East. And the Dutchman is looking forward to duelling with the Scuderia pair.
“It was nice, [we had a] really close battle with Carlos and Charles of course at the end so they did a really good job over the winter and hopefully it’s going to be an exciting race," he added.
The qualifying sessions took place on the same day that the FIA finally released their report into December's race at the Yas Marina, where Verstappen won his maiden title. The report conceded mistakes were made by race director Michael Masi, which they labelled "human error."
The governing body also outlined the changes that would be made to avoid a similar scenario in future. Rules on the safety car procedure were also clarified.
