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Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W12 Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB16B
Autosport Plus
Opinion

The nightmare timing that now hinders Mercedes

Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton took victory at the Bahrain Grand Prix despite, for a change, not having the quickest car. But any hopes of developing its W12 to surpass Red Bull's RB16B in terms of outright speed could not have come at a worse time.

Game on. That's the clear take-out from the Bahrain Grand Prix about the tantalising Formula 1 battle we now have on our hands between Red Bull and Mercedes.

While Lewis Hamilton was able to emerge from the F1 season opener with a classy victory, it is pretty clear that Mercedes does not have the fastest car.

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