Lewis Hamilton says Mercedes' failure to out-qualify either Ferrari in Bahrain shows speculation about the team's so-called "party mode" engine setting has been overblown.
Hamilton claimed pole at the Melbourne opener by 0.6s, a lap Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo likened to Mercedes giving the rest of the paddock the middle finger and throwing a pie in everyone's face. It seemed to indicate Mercedes had lost none of the one-lap advantage it has held throughout the V6 turbo era.