Helmut Marko produced a withering criticism of Ferrari after the Red Bull adviser watched his team romp to victory in Bahrain.
Red Bull went into the first race of the new Formula 1 campaign as the clear favourites, thanks to the car performance they demonstrated in pre-season testing. But the sheer size of the gap between the RB19 and the machines created by their rivals during the race itself will worry the likes of Ferrari and Mercedes.
Aston Martin were the closest to Red Bull, another thing for those two other title-chasing teams to be worried about. Speaking after the race, Marko offered a positive outlook for Mercedes.
"Who will be our opponents this year? After one race it's hard to say," he told Motorsport.com. "There are many opponents. I also think Mercedes will improve over the course of the season."
But the Austrian couldn't resist sticking the boot into Ferrari. Not only were the Italians off the pace, but their reliability woes from last season resurfaced as Charles Leclerc was forced to retire after an engine failure.
Marko added: "Ferrari has the more powerful engine, but what's the point of having the more powerful engine if isn't it reliable? But yes, the top speed is what it is and we have to deal with that."
Leclerc's retirement in Bahrain is likely to have a more far-reaching impact on his season. Not only did it prevent him from scoring any points in the first race of the year, but he is also likely to have his chances hampered by a grid penalty at some point.
That is because it is understood the new energy store and control electronics fitted to his engine in Bahrain cannot be recovered as a result of the engine failure. As only two of each are allowed for each driver per season, he now has only one of each to use for the remaining 22 races.
That is not feasible, and he will no doubt be forced to use at least one more of each at some point this year. Doing so will incur a grid penalty under the current rules around engine components.
