Three things we learned about the Bahrain Grand Prix from Friday practice

We might be set for a first in the hybrid era of Formula 1 at the Bahrain Grand Prix - Mercedes look like they could be not the strongest, or even the second strongest team in Sakhir. So with big opportunities perhaps at hand for Ferrari and Red Bull, here's what we learned from Friday's practice sessions.

MERCEDES ON THE BACK FOOT?

Much can change come Saturday and Sunday of course, especially if the Silver Arrows hit 'party mode'! However, they were neither best placed on one-lap simulations or in long-run pace across Friday's second practice session, much more representative than the daytime FP1.

The Ferraris of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen were well ahead after the short runs, Raikkonen going quickest of all in a time of one minute 29.817 seconds.

Lewis Hamilton saw a flying lap curtailed by traffic, but Valtteri Bottas - pole-sitter last year in Sakhir - was half a second away from his fellow Finn.

When it came to long runs, it was Red Bull who took command and Max Verstappen was almost seven tenths quicker than Hamilton on average.

It was perhaps telling that Hamilton's race engineer told him the team were "interested" in collecting data while running in traffic. A sign of things to come?

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SIGNS OF STRAIN AT RENAULT

Of course, whether Red Bull can take advantage of that race-pace advantage may well depend on their Saturday performance.

Both Nico Hulkenberg and Verstappen complained about a lack of power on the longer straights of the Sakhir International Circuit. Regardless, the Hulk was the best of the rest in seventh, within 1.4 seconds of Raikkonen.

It can't be all bad, mind, given Fernando Alonso is yet to pipe up.

That's when you know you've had it.

STRATEGY COULD BE KEY

Many of the signs point to a mix-up in tyre performance, with Vettel routinely putting in laps on the soft tyre that were just as good as the supersoft.

Tyre wear is a serious issue in Sakhir with hard braking zones and a rough asphalt track. The fact that the mid-range compound on offer this weekend looks like it could be the quickest will have the pit-wall boffins of every team scratching their heads.

We could well see plenty of teams starting on the soft tyres, and after they tried something similar in Australia, it would be no surprise to see Red Bull try and get into Q3 using softs in an attempt to stretch out their opening stints - the easiest way to get in amongst Ferrari and Mercedes if their qualifying pace is down.

The top times from Friday practice at the #BahrainGP.

A post shared by GP Fans Global (@gpfansglobal) on Apr 6, 2018 at 9:32am PDT