Ralf Schumacher ‘expected more’ from eight-time F1 champions after Bahrain Grand Prix

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Mercedes under-delivered at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix on Saturday, Sky Germany pundit Ralf Schumacher says.

The Silver Arrows, who have won eight constructors’ championships during their history in Formula 1, only scored 16 points under the lights.

Schumacher says he ‘expected more’ from the Brackley outfit, who had topped FP2 with Lewis Hamilton and qualified third with George Russell.

Russell briefly threatened to be Max Verstappen’s closest challenger after overtaking Charles Leclerc early in the race but he subsequently lost three places.

Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz got past him, and then Leclerc bumped him down to fifth after he ran wide.

Hamilton, meanwhile, was only able to gain two spots after qualifying in a disappointing ninth place on Friday.

Ralf Schumacher sends message to Toto Wolff after Bahrain performance

Schumacher, the brother of ex-Mercedes driver Michael and a six-time Grand Prix winner in his own right, said Mercedes weren’t ‘stable’ in Sakhir.

He believes Toto Wolff and co. have work to do heading into the second race of the season in Saudi Arabia next weekend.

“Nevertheless, Toto has to clarify a few things,” he said. “That wasn’t a stable performance. I expected more from Mercedes.”

Mercedes face new Ferrari threat as Red Bull still clear

Mercedes were a dominant force in Formula 1 between 2014 and 2021, winning eight consecutive championships, but they have firmly been dethroned by Red Bull.

While they managed to finish in second place in last year’s standings, they have work to do to avoid losing that spot to Ferrari.

The Scuderia established themselves as the Bulls’ nearest challengers in Bahrain, with Leclerc starting on the front row and Sainz scoring a podium behind Verstappen and Perez.

Sky Sports F1 pundit Martin Brundle thinks Russell and Hamilton will be ‘disappointed’ by the race pace of their W15.

And colleague David Croft fears there could be further trouble on the horizon in the hotter Saudi Arabian climate after Mercedes struggled with overheating on Saturday.