Fuel pumps, porpoising and fear - What Red Bull, Mercedes and Ferrari have to do at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

The opening race of the new Formula 1 season did not disappoint viewers, though Red Bull will be far from happy. Max Verstappen’s team suffered two huge faults at the denouement, while Ferrari emerged victorious and Mercedes got lucky after weeks of concern.

Ad/> Ahead of next weekend’s move to Saudi Arabia, it’s time to look at where the three biggest teams can improve. Formula 1Verstappen 2.0? Red Bull star shows new patience despite frustrationYESTERDAY AT 20:12 Mercedes (Hamilton third and Russell fourth) Mercedes spent most of testing and free practice talking up their rivals and being pessimistic about their own chances.

There were early suspicions that Toto Wolff, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell were sandbagging in typical Mercedes style, but the longer the underperformance went on, the more credible those worries became. Verstappen 2.0? Red Bull start shows new patience despite frustration 'It shouldn't happen' — Verstappen frustrated with Red Bull faults Leclerc wins in Bahrain as Verstappen and Red Bull suffer late disaster So far Mercedes has continued to struggle with porpoising, the phenomenon where F1 cars are sucked down to the track and then bounce back up, making it harder for the drivers to get exact control.

Both Hamilton and Russell said they anticipate the problem will be one that can be refined over the course of the season, with no quick fix in sight, and Mercedes boss Wolff acknowledged that the cars are around half a second behind the top pace set by Red Bull and Ferrari. For the Saudi Grand Prix, the requirements are clear.

First, they have to reduce the effect that porpoising is having on the car, and it seems that simply raising or lowering the driving position only has so much effect. In