<p>Red Bull team chief Christian Horner was quick to warn of the threat from Mercedes after seeing Max Verstappen land pole position at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.</p>.<p>Horner was unable to hide his pleasure, but recognised that defending seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton had made a big improvement in qualifying since the pre-season test.</p>.<p>Hamilton almost snatched pole before Verstappen responded with a flawless final lap to go fastest by three-tenths of a second.</p>.<p>It was the Dutchman's fourth pole success and set up a front row start alongside the Briton on Sunday.</p>.<p>"Mercedes - look at what they turned up," said Horner.</p>.<p>"Everyone was writing them off in the last couple of weeks and they are right there -- and they are going to be right there in the race again tomorrow.</p>.<p>"They are going to be a massive challenge for us to beat them, but we are starting in the best possible place."</p>.<p>Horner confirmed that Verstappen had damaged his car when he ran over the kerbs during qualifying.</p>.<p>"He smacked the bottom of the car hard. We lost a few bits of carbon. He is carrying a very small bit of damage through the session.</p>.<p>"You think 'oh no', but he has handled that incredibly well. He felt it, he's obviously sitting on it, but he handled that very well."</p>.<p>Bahrain Grand Prix starting grid for Formula One's season-opening race on Sunday (1600GMT):</p>.<p><strong>Front row:</strong></p>.<p>Max Verstappen (NED/Red Bull-Honda)</p>.<p>Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes)</p>.<p><strong>2nd row:</strong></p>.<p>Valtteri Bottas (FIN/Mercedes)</p>.<p>Charles Leclerc (MON/Ferrari)</p>.<p><strong>3rd row:</strong></p>.<p>Pierre Gasly (FRA/AlphaTauri-Honda)</p>.<p>Daniel Ricciardo (AUS/McLaren-Mercedes)</p>.<p><strong>4th row:</strong></p>.<p>Lando Norris (GBR/McLaren-Mercedes)</p>.<p>Carlos Sainz (ESP/Ferrari)</p>.<p><strong>5th row:</strong></p>.<p>Fernando Alonso (ESP/Alpine-Renault)</p>.<p>Lance Stroll (CAN/Aston Martin-Mercedes)</p>.<p><strong>6th row:</strong></p>.<p>Sergio Perez (MEX/Red Bull-Honda)</p>.<p>Antonio Giovinazzi (ITA/Alfa Romeo-Ferrari)</p>.<p><strong>7th row:</strong></p>.<p>Yuki Tsunoda (JPN/AlphaTauri-Honda)</p>.<p>Kimi Räikkönen (FIN/Alfa Romeo-Ferrari)</p>.<p><strong>8th row:</strong></p>.<p>George Russell (GBR/Williams-Mercedes)</p>.<p>Esteban Ocon (FRA/Alpine-Renault)</p>.<p><strong>9th row:</strong></p>.<p>Nicholas Latifi (CAN/Williams-Mercedes)</p>.<p>Sebastian Vettel (GER/Aston Martin-Mercedes)</p>.<p><strong>10th row:</strong></p>.<p>Mick Schumacher (GER/Haas-Ferrari)</p>.<p>Nikita Mazepin (RUS/Haas-Ferrari)</p>
<p>Red Bull team chief Christian Horner was quick to warn of the threat from Mercedes after seeing Max Verstappen land pole position at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.</p>.<p>Horner was unable to hide his pleasure, but recognised that defending seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton had made a big improvement in qualifying since the pre-season test.</p>.<p>Hamilton almost snatched pole before Verstappen responded with a flawless final lap to go fastest by three-tenths of a second.</p>.<p>It was the Dutchman's fourth pole success and set up a front row start alongside the Briton on Sunday.</p>.<p>"Mercedes - look at what they turned up," said Horner.</p>.<p>"Everyone was writing them off in the last couple of weeks and they are right there -- and they are going to be right there in the race again tomorrow.</p>.<p>"They are going to be a massive challenge for us to beat them, but we are starting in the best possible place."</p>.<p>Horner confirmed that Verstappen had damaged his car when he ran over the kerbs during qualifying.</p>.<p>"He smacked the bottom of the car hard. We lost a few bits of carbon. He is carrying a very small bit of damage through the session.</p>.<p>"You think 'oh no', but he has handled that incredibly well. He felt it, he's obviously sitting on it, but he handled that very well."</p>.<p>Bahrain Grand Prix starting grid for Formula One's season-opening race on Sunday (1600GMT):</p>.<p><strong>Front row:</strong></p>.<p>Max Verstappen (NED/Red Bull-Honda)</p>.<p>Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes)</p>.<p><strong>2nd row:</strong></p>.<p>Valtteri Bottas (FIN/Mercedes)</p>.<p>Charles Leclerc (MON/Ferrari)</p>.<p><strong>3rd row:</strong></p>.<p>Pierre Gasly (FRA/AlphaTauri-Honda)</p>.<p>Daniel Ricciardo (AUS/McLaren-Mercedes)</p>.<p><strong>4th row:</strong></p>.<p>Lando Norris (GBR/McLaren-Mercedes)</p>.<p>Carlos Sainz (ESP/Ferrari)</p>.<p><strong>5th row:</strong></p>.<p>Fernando Alonso (ESP/Alpine-Renault)</p>.<p>Lance Stroll (CAN/Aston Martin-Mercedes)</p>.<p><strong>6th row:</strong></p>.<p>Sergio Perez (MEX/Red Bull-Honda)</p>.<p>Antonio Giovinazzi (ITA/Alfa Romeo-Ferrari)</p>.<p><strong>7th row:</strong></p>.<p>Yuki Tsunoda (JPN/AlphaTauri-Honda)</p>.<p>Kimi Räikkönen (FIN/Alfa Romeo-Ferrari)</p>.<p><strong>8th row:</strong></p>.<p>George Russell (GBR/Williams-Mercedes)</p>.<p>Esteban Ocon (FRA/Alpine-Renault)</p>.<p><strong>9th row:</strong></p>.<p>Nicholas Latifi (CAN/Williams-Mercedes)</p>.<p>Sebastian Vettel (GER/Aston Martin-Mercedes)</p>.<p><strong>10th row:</strong></p>.<p>Mick Schumacher (GER/Haas-Ferrari)</p>.<p>Nikita Mazepin (RUS/Haas-Ferrari)</p>