© Jiri Krenek for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd.
Sky Sports analyst and Mercedes’ simulator driver Anthony Davidson predicts F1’s pecking order after Pre-Season Testing, and says Mercedes “seems to be somewhere in the mix, it wasn’t there at all last year”.
After three days of 2023 Pre-Season Testing in Bahrain, Anthony Davidson gave his thoughts on what F1’s pecking order will look at the Bahrain Grand Prix next week.
“Red Bull, Ferrari are pretty close,” Davidson said.
“I reckon they’ve got about two or three tenths over Ferrari in qualifying, then Mercedes another three tenths away. Then I’m going to say Aston Martin, another two tenths away.
“Then from what I’ve seen, I’m going to say Haas, Alpine, AlphaTauri, McLaren and I don’t know about times at this stage – it’s just my gut feeling from things I’ve seen.
“Alfa Romeo and then Williams. I’m not talking championship, I’m just talking first race.”
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After Lewis Hamilton posted the second fastest time of testing, Davidson gave his thoughts on how things are going for Mercedes.
“The tyres are falling off at the end of the lap for Lewis. It looks better than this time last year for Mercedes versus the Red Bull and Ferrari.
“It seems to be somewhere in the mix, it wasn’t there at all last year. It was clear to see they were really struggling – this is more encouraging.
“I don’t think it’s quite there yet, I’m seeing balance imperfection, but it’s definitely an improvement from last year,” the Briton concluded.
