Red Bull branded 'biggest threat' to Mercedes as F1 recovery gathers pace

Anthony Davidson has declared that Red Bull is fast becoming the "biggest threat" to Mercedes in F1, after the team locked out second and third places behind Kimi Antonelli in final practice for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.

Max Verstappen set the second-fastest time at the Sepang International Circuit, 0.278s off Antonelli's benchmark, with Isack Hadjar third. George Russell could only manage fourth in the other W17.

That comes after Verstappen topped FP1 and both drivers were in the mix during FP2 as well, rounding out a strong Friday for the six-time constructors' champions.

Speaking on Sky Sports F1 commentary after the session, Davidson highlighted how Mercedes' advantage is shrinking quickly, and how the RB22 is emerging as the closest competitor.

Red Bull's form continues from where the team left off in Baku, where Verstappen finished just 0.196s behind race winner Russell, with Hadjar completing a double podium for the Milton Keynes-based squad in third.

And the four-time F1 drivers' champion has finished on the rostrum in the last six grands prix he has completed, with just his retirements at Silverstone and Zandvoort bucking that trend.

"Red Bull would have hoped to be closer to the Mercedes, but they are there or thereabouts once again," Davidson said. "They're quickly becoming the team that's the biggest threat to Mercedes on any given weekend."

Mekies and Verstappen targeting victories

Red Bull sits fourth in the constructors' standings and is the only top-four outfit yet to triumph this season, with Ferrari and then McLaren looking to be the closest rivals to Mercedes.

However, Davidson has tapped into the shifting sands of the competitive order and team principal Laurent Mekies has repeatedly stressed that Red Bull's target for the rest of the campaign is to fight for grand prix wins on merit, rather than rely on others' misfortune.

The Frenchman has pointed to the scale of the RB22's in-season development when reflecting on progress made since the early rounds.

"There is a definitive step forward. We left Japan 1.2 seconds away from pole, China 1.0 seconds away from pole," Mekies said.

"Competition was not going to wait for us with their updates. Everybody has updated the car, but certainly we knew that on top of the development race, we had to solve some of our issues, and we knew there was lap time in it."

For Verstappen, the stakes are personal, too. The 29-year-old has yet to win a grand prix in 2026 and is chasing a maiden victory of the campaign to avoid going winless for the first time since his debut season with Toro Rosso in 2015.

"We are scoring quite a few podiums now, but I want to win," he said ahead of the weekend in Sepang.

"That's what I'm here for, and I'm getting close, but I want at least to win one race this year, so I hope we can do it, of course, at some point."