Vasseur: Sleeping Mercedes will 'wake up soon'

Ferrari team principal Fred Vassuer believes Mercedes is currently sleeping but will "wake up soon".

The Scuderia was second-best to Red Bull on qualifying pace at F1's season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz locking out the second row behind Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez.

But in the race, Ferrari's tyre degradation saw the SF-23 slip to third-quickest, though not to Mercedes but by the emerging Aston Martin.

Vasseur: Ferrari blindsided by Leclerc engine woe

Lewis Hamilton and George Russell could only finish fifth and seventh, with the former unable to mount a challenge against Sainz late in the race.

With the track surface in Bahrain unique, a definitive stamp cannot be put on F1's pecking order, something Vasseur has been quick to stress.

'We don't have to draw any conclusions'

“If you have a look at the first part of the race, I think that we were closer to Red Bull than we were to Aston Martin," explained the Frenchman.

“But again, it is race one and I don’t think we have to draw any conclusions.

“I think that Mercedes will wake up soon but we don’t know what will happen next week.

"Next week will be a different story in Jeddah. It is different Tarmac and after that race, we will have a better picture of the season.”

READ MORE: Red Bull in damning Mercedes assessment

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