Red Bull team boss Christian Horner says he's been impressed so far by the performance in pre-season testing of Ferrari's F1-75 but insists Mercedes has yet to "show their hand".
With each passing session since pre-season preparations kicked off in Barcelona two weeks ago, a consensus has slowly emerged in the F1 paddock that Ferrari currently holds an edge over its rivals.
The Scuderia's pace coupled with its rock solid reliability and the stability of its F1-75 out on track has indeed induced the perception that the Italian outfit is on top of things.
Although impressed with Ferrari's contender, Horner warns that it's early days to draw any definitive conclusions from testing so far.
"For me the car that looks the most settled on circuit is the Ferrari at the moment," said Horner in Bahrain.
"They’ve had a very strong testing period so far both in Barcelona and in Bahrain so far. I would say they’ve looked extremely competitive on track.
"But you have to remember these cars are still very immature," he added.
"The rate of development will be fast and intense and I expect that to change and Mercedes are going to be a huge factor in this championship, I have no doubt."
On Thursday, Horner was quoted - erroneously according to the Red Bull team boss - as doubting the legality of Mercedes' innovative sidepod concept on its W13.
Since however, the Briton has gone on record saying that the Brackley squad's latest Silver Arrow "ticks all the boxes".
"Comments have been quoted that certainly weren’t made," Horner said. "I think that the car is obviously innovative, it’s an interesting solution.
"As far as we’re concerned the Mercedes car looks like it complies with the regulations. It’s just a different interpretation, a different solution."
Assessing the field's performance so far, Horner steered clear of risking a prediction regarding F1's pecking order, also convinced that Mercedes is playing its cards close to its chest.
"I think what you can say is that it’s only going to be next Saturday you’ll get the first snapshot when the fuel comes out, people run as close to the weight limit as they can and we’ll see how competitive they are," he explained.
"We’ve got a complete clean sheet of paper. I don’t think Mercedes have fully shown their hand here.
"I think Ferrari are the form team you’d have to say at the moment. Hopefully we can be in there as well. It looks like McLaren have a strong car, Alpine have been quick so it’s impossible to predict."
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