F1 News: Superior McLaren to cruise to Bahrain win

(GMM) The superior flexi-wing McLaren should cruise to victory on Sunday, according to Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko.

Although Max Verstappen won from pole at Suzuka a week ago, the conditions in Bahrain – hot, slow corners and an abrasive track – play into McLaren’s hands.

“For half a lap, Max is as fast as the McLaren,” said team boss Christian Horner. “From turn 10 onward, he drops back.”

Marko, speaking to Osterreich newspaper, expands: “In the heat, tire wear is crucial. And it’s really bad for us. We have a few other problems as well.

“I fear McLaren will win, and it will be a pretty clear win,” the Austrian added.

In conversation with the broadcaster Viaplay, Horner admitted that even Verstappen’s incredible current form will not be enough to overcome the problem.

“It’s impossible to repeat what he did last week, in terms of his performance over one lap, and then to keep the McLarens behind him for the whole grand prix,” he said.

“This is a circuit where you can overtake. One of the easiest circuits for overtaking actually.”

Former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher agrees, but he thinks Verstappen may still stay without a shout of the championship lead at least for now.

“He’s pushing the envelope while the two McLaren drivers are making mistakes, racing against each other, getting in each other’s way, and taking points away from each other as a result,” he told f1-insider.com.

“That, and only that, could help Verstappen in the end. Because on tracks like Bahrain, the McLaren is better. Even Verstappen won’t have a chance of winning there.”

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Even though the upgrades are effective, Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc still believes that Ferrari has a significant gap between themselves and the rest of the field, especially the two powerful McLaren cars.

“To be honest, the potential of the car remains the same and just not fast enough,” he said after FP2.

“When we look at the McLaren, they are just on another planet for now. It’s annoying, but it’s the way it is. “

“We’ve got to maximize the car potential that we have for now, if that means finishing third or fifth, I don’t know what that will be, but we’ll have to take it and I hope that at one point we’ll be back at being the fastest car on track.”

“It actually motivates me to try and close that gap as soon as possible, but they are incredibly fast.”

“With Mercedes, it seems that we are pretty much there. With Red Bull, it’s a bit more difficult; I think Max [Verstappen] had one less tyre compared to us in FP2, so I think he’s probably a bit in front.”