Mercedes expects to bring lots of new enhancements to Bahrain for the second week of F1 testing, which begins on March 10th.

Mercedes is anticipated to bring “major changes” to the second Formula One test in Bahrain next week, while Ferrari is supposed to run the same car as in Barcelona.

The official pre-season test for the 2022 season, which will be held at the Bahrain International Circuit, will back to tv screens on March 10th.

Just nine days later, on March 19, vehicles will head to the circuit for qualifying, which will kick off the season’s competitive action.

That’s when viewers will see for the first time which teams have done the best job of navigating the sport’s new rules and clawing back the most downforce.

Mercedes, according to Tom Clarkson, host of F1’s official podcasts, has a lot planned for Bahrain.

“We’re getting a big, big upgrade for Bahrain from Mercedes, so it’s gonna be different,” said Clarkson, speaking on the F1 Nation podcast.

“Ferrari believe it’s more of a B spec car, a bit like they did back in 2019 when they turned up with a very basic car for the first test and then an almost completely new car for test two.

“Ferrari are expecting Mercedes to be doing that again this year.”

Ferrari is taking a different approach

While Mercedes is expected to bring a nearly latest car to Bahrain, Ferrari is expected to run the same car as in Barcelona, with minor changes.

Even though the team claims they were on “high fuel” and “not in the best engine mode,” their F1-75 looked fast and dependable at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Ferrari, on the other hand, is convinced that by focusing on refining the car they learnt so much about in Spain, they will continue to improve throughout the remaining three days of testing.

“I believe the first step for us will be to optimise what we have,” Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto remarked.

“We are still far from the best performance, not only because we are running high fuel and not the best engine mode, but simply because there is a lot to exploit more from the car itself.

“Let’s wait, let’s see what the others will bring.

“Certainly as Ferrari we are always concerned on upgrades of our competitors. And I’m pretty sure they will be very, very strong by then.”

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