Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas and Red Bull team boss Christian Horner are on the same page when it comes to describing a key advantage currently enjoyed by Ferrari.
Following the Scuderia’s surprising flop in Melbourne, which it owed apparently to an over-cautious approach to engine cooling, the House of Maranello delivered a performance in Bahrain that was in-line with the expectations that emerged after pre-season testing.
Ferrari’s SF90 is undoubtedly a well-balanced package, but it’s the car’s straight-line speed that opened the eyes of its rivals at Sakhir, especially after qualifying when Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel locked out the front row.
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“Ferrari were very strong at the weekend,” said Horner.
“Mercedes have got lucky with a one-two. Ferrari were the dominant team.
“It looked like they selected another gear. It was enormously impressive, their straight-line performance.”
Horner’s assessment was echoed by Bottas who believed that Ferrari had made “a massive gain” in straight-line speed in Bahrain, a fact that worried the Finn ahead of next week’s Chinese Grand Prix.
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