Lewis Hamilton delivers daunting Ferrari prediction at Bahrain testing

Lewis Hamilton has suggested that Ferrari could earn a 1-2 in Bahrain for the first Grand Prix of the season if the race was held tomorrow, given their current form in Formula 1 testing.

The Scuderia, despite the best efforts of Carlos Sainz, Charles Leclerc and Mattia Binotto to play things down and divert attention, have looked very strong and have regularly topped the testing timesheets – though admittedly that is not always a true indicator of raw pace once it comes to an actual Grand Prix.

Even so, the Prancing Horse looks like a real thoroughbred at this early stage and Lewis Hamilton is clearly impressed with what he has seen from the men clad in red, whilst also feeling as though there is work to do in his own garage with his Mercedes team.

Earlier on today, Carlos Sainz suggested that it was typical Mercedes to be playing down their chances ahead of the coming season next weekend but, in speaking to F1’s Will Buxton, Hamilton has suggested that the Ferraris really do have the edge and if the race was tomorrow we’d be seeing a dominant red performance:

Having just spoken to Lewis he’s countered this with his own suggestion that if the BahrainGP was tomorrow it would be a Ferrari 1-2. The 7 time champ is far from comfortable and, he insists, the team is in no place to be holding back. https://t.co/w8apAnvcCZ

The race, though, is not tomorrow.

Instead, a final day of testing awaits in Sakhir, giving teams one final chance to gain data and learn about their new cars before the business of a new Formula 1 season firmly takes full attention.

Practice in Bahrain next weekend is bound to be important and could be used as an extension of this week’s test, whilst the real fun begins on Saturday with qualifying and then,