Formula 1 testing: New twist in Mercedes upgrade row

Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton were second and fourth fastest in pre-season testing as the row over Mercedes' car took a new twist.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said the Mercedes design complied with the rules a day after being quoted saying it was «illegal».

Horner said it was an «extreme» rules interpretation, but: «It looks like it ticks all the [legality] boxes.»

He insisted his earlier quoted comments about the car «weren't made».

The row has overshadowed the first two days of testing in Bahrain, which ended with Verstappen 0.13 seconds quicker than Hamilton.

The world champion trailed pace-setter Carlos Sainz of Ferrari by 0.479secs, with Lance Stroll's Aston Martin third ahead of Hamilton, as a number of senior figures emphasised that it was not possible to accurately judge form from testing.

There is one day of testing left on Saturday before the new season starts at the same Bahrain track next weekend.

Mercedes turned heads at the start of the Bahrain test on Thursday when they unveiled an aerodynamic upgrade to the car that first ran at the opening test in Barcelona two weeks ago.

The upgrade features minimised side-pods and turns the mandatory side-impact structures into aerodynamic wing sections, with the wing mirrors mounted on them.

Germany's Auto Motor Und Sport quoted Horner expressing doubts about the legality of the new design, which Mercedes have introduced at this week's final pre-season test in Bahrain.

In the article, Horner says: «Those are not mirror mounts, but two wings. In addition, they have built vertical baffles on top. They have nothing to do with the mirror mount.

»From our point of view, Mercedes has gone a step too far. That does not correspond to the spirit of the regulations. For