McLaren's Sainz Jr fears Haas is at least 0.5s clear of F1 midfield

Kevin Magnussen was sixth, first of the 'Class B' runners in Australia, while Sainz retired with an MGU-K failure early on.

Haas and Renault have been tipped as the leading midfield outfits in 2019, but testing and the season-opening race suggested the midfield battle will be just as close as it was in '18.

But Sainz thinks Haas has an advantage that may not be closed down in the development race.

"They [Haas] are, from the midfield, a bit too far ahead for everyone else," said Sainz.

"That is the only bad thing compared to last year, that the Haas are a bit too far away compared to last year."

Asked how big he felt their advantage was, Sainz said: "It is at least half a second, so to close a gap of half a second even in a high development rate of the season is a very difficult task because they are not going to stand still.

"So it means you need to develop at least seven or eight tenths during the year, which is a lot of lap time.

"My big first estimate is it is going to be very, very difficult to end the year in front of [Haas in] qualifying. On pure pace, it is going to be very difficult for anyone."

Sainz's view on Haas being clear of its midfield rivals has been backed by Racing Point's Sergio Perez.

"We've seen from Melbourne the midfield is very close, altogether, but probably the Haas is a step away," said Perez.

But Renault drivers Nico Hulkenberg and Daniel Ricciardo disagreed with Sainz's assessment.

Asked about Sainz's comment, Hulkenberg said: "I'm not sure about that, to be honest.

"If Kevin had that pace in hand, I think he would have used it at some point in Melbourne, but he finished a couple of seconds ahead of me.

"I think Haas definitely look strong. Maybe they have the edge at the moment, but it is all very compact."

Ricciardo added: "I think we have got a car that can match them. "Naturally we will get some circuits that suit them more than us or whatever, but I look back at qualifying [in Australia] and I know Nico felt and I know there was certainly a bit more in me.

"If we got into Q3 we would have got quite close to them, so we are pretty much there. And Nico was quite close to Kevin throughout the race. "If they are in front it is not by much."