Has Mercedes been hiding its true potential in Bahrain?
Concealing information is a key art for any Formula 1 team, but in 2022 pre-season testing it is even more critical than usual.
In this video, Autosport reporters Luke Smith and Alex Kalinauckas consider suggestions that the Mercedes squad has been hiding its true potential so far in the Bahrain test.
The team, which topped the first test at Barcelona, is yet to trouble the headline times – but might have got among them if Lewis Hamilton had not backed out a quick lap late in the second session at the Sakhir track on Thursday.
Another topic for discussion is Red Bull’s first public reaction – at least according to the team’s communications department after a quotation farrago on the opening morning – to Mercedes’ reworked W13 design.
And finally, there’s insight into the reliability issues that blighted much of the second day of this final test, which had big implications for the Williams, Alpine, Aston Martin and McLaren teams.

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