Gazzetta dello Sport and Corriere dello sport the two biggest sports-related media companies in Italy are looking forward to what they predict will be one of the closest battles for pole during a Formula 1 qualifying session in recent years. The headline on Gazzetta dello Sport read, "Verstappen challenges the king! Max versus Lewis! Max takes the wings." The paper goes on to describe how the struggles Mercedes experienced during the preseason F1 test were not a result of them sandbagging and that the performance of Verstappen was not a flash in the pan either. "Mercedes' problems in the test days were certainly no bluff, as Friday's sessions show. Just as Max's strengths during the test days were no mirage either," the paper said. "On Saturday and Sunday we can therefore prepare for a great titanic battle between the strong Red Bull with the flying Verstappen and Hamilton who always knows how to send his Mercedes car to the limit. "Now we are going to see the class of the seven-time world champion. We already saw that on Friday, Hamilton was able to dominate the nervous Mercedes car, while Bottas had many problems and already surrendered on the board radio saying the car was uncontrollable." The Corriere dello Sport meanwhile highlights Adrian Newey's contribution to the Austrian team's success. "Red Bull seems to be magic, even the first day in Bahrain has shown interesting things," the headline of the paper shouted. It then goes on to praise the designer's efforts, especially with the Red Bull looking so steady in contrast to Mercedes' W12. "Adrian Newey seems to have rediscovered some of his magic, the Red Bull car seems to be very fast and that after years in which it looked a little less so," Corriere dello Sport said. "Newey seems to have made the most of the small rule change with the new design. Verstappen was the fastest driver, but also the slowest driver on the straight. That shows how well the Red Bull car is built aerodynamically, the car is very effective. "It seems that the Red Bull is really perfect for the corners, that's where they gain the most, the chassis works perfectly. Verstappen himself, however, remains very level-headed about it; he expressed that Mercedes is logically the favourite due to all the successes achieved in recent years." You can follow all the action live on our very own liveblog on the RacingNews365.com website.
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