Double world champion Max Verstappen and his Red Bull team will be tough to beat at this weekend’s season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, his rivals said on Thursday.

Both Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and McLaren’s George Russell said the defending champion’s team had shown they had a distinct performance advantage in last week’s three-day test.

“It’s clear, they’ve had a strong start and both Red Bull and Max seem to be very strong,” said Leclerc, who finished second in last year’s title race behind the flying Dutchman.

“Yes, it’s only testing, so it’s difficult to quantify by how much, but it seems like they are a bit in front compared to us. So, we’ve got some work to do.

Read full story on www.sportsdesk.com.mt

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