Helmut Marko feels one Red Bull rival ‘certainly’ hiding true pace at F1 testing

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Helmut Marko believes Mercedes are ‘certainly’ hiding the true pace of their new W15 car at Formula 1’s pre-season test but Red Bull ‘can be confident’ they are not a threat.

The Silver Arrows finished the first day of testing in Sakhir with the 12th-fastest lap time this Wednesday. George Russell set a 1:34.109 lap using Pirelli’s C3 compound tyres, some 2.765 seconds off the table-topping pace of Max Verstappen in the new-for-2024 RB20 Red Bull.

Verstappen also set his fastest lap of the day with Pirelli’s C3 tyres. The 2023 champion also lapped the home of the Bahrain GP 143 times, while Russell completed 122 laps. Mercedes used the first day of the only winter test to rack up the laps with their heavily-revised W15.

Helmut Marko feels Mercedes are ‘certainly’ faster than on day one of pre-season testing

The engineers in Brackley have changed most of Mercedes’ car ahead of the 2024 Formula 1 season. One of their most striking differences from the W14 is the Silver Arrows’ innovative front wing. It boasts a tiny upper flap to connect the wing to the nose cone, as is mandated.

Mercedes, clearly, wanted to shake out any gremlins with their W15 as Russell ran up his lap count. Lewis Hamilton got his first taste of their new machine – and his final Silver Arrows – on Thursday. It is the seven-time champion’s last year at Mercedes after signing with Ferrari.

Helmut Marko thinks Red Bull ‘can be confident’ ahead of the 2024 Formula 1 season

Red Bull also unveiled an eye-catching new car for the 2024 campaign, with the RB20 taking on some elements of Mercedes’ now-scrapped zero-pod concept. Yet the team from Milton Keynes picked up where they left off after the RB19 won 19 of the 22 Grand Prix last season.

But pre-season testing rarely paints a true picture of the pace of Formula 1’s field. So, Marko expects Mercedes to make inroads into Red Bull’s inflated advantage when the Silver Arrows show their real speed. Although he still doubts they will be a threat for the titles this season.

“I don’t know what they did,” Marko said, via Motorsport-Total. “Certainly, they are faster than what they showed. They didn’t put new tyres on when the temperature dropped and they were obviously running a completely different programme. But we can be confident.”