Horner acknowledges: 'Doesn't look easy for the Mercedes drivers'

How serious Mercedes' problems really are, will become clear during qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix. The German racing team did not have a problem-free Friday, as Red Bull Racing team boss Christian Horner also noticed.

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff even said that Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing are currently in 'a class of their own'. Initially, Mercedes' claims were mistaken for the annual 'sandbagging', but even the competition is starting to notice that it's not all bluff poker.

In Saturday's press conference, Horner admits that his rivals at Mercedes did not look so good on Friday. "If you look at their car on the track, it doesn't look easy for their drivers at the moment," he told The Race.

Nevertheless, according to Horner, one has to take into account Mercedes' ability to come back. "They have had difficult pre-seasons before and then won the first race," said the Brit. He therefore thinks it could take three or four races for the team to show its true form.