Max Verstappen's runaway Red Bull train will take some stopping

Can anyone stop Red Bull’s runaway locomotive charging to another world championship in 2023 as Max Verstappen continues his rampage through the record books?

After a record 15 victories in 2022, the pre-season testing time sheets (and acres of print that have emerged since) make the remarkable young Dutchman firm favourite yet again.

Paddock eyes reported a certain swagger down at the Honda-powered team after testing in Bahrain last week.

The Dutchman was so confident he only bothered to get in the car for two of the three days permitted.

Of course, pre-season’s time sheets can be fool’s gold. Some teams may be grandstanding to impress potential sponsors while others could actually be sandbagging.

But one fact appears to have cast iron credentials: Mercedes woes are set to continue. After their worst season in nine years they are struggling to understand their new car yet again.

Lead driver Lewis Hamilton and teammate George Russell both report balance issues.

The seven-time champion is in turmoil. Entering the final year of his contract without a new deal is a clear sign, some believe, of fears Mercedes will be uncompetitive yet again.

Russell described suggestions of Mercedes winning the opening race of the season in Bahrain on Sunday as “a bit of stretch”.

The team have been so desperate to save weight to improve competitiveness they are removing paint where they can. Hence the return to black carbon fibre.

Both Russell and boss Toto Wolf used the word “ultimately” when talking about the time scale for being competitive, suggesting it is somewhere over the horizon.

Some predict the Mercedes’ malaise runs so deep they may even fall out of the sport’s Big Three, overtaken by one of their own customer teams, Aston