The W12 whilst still highly competitive was not initially as dominant as its predecessor either in pre-season testing or at the 2021 Bahrain Grand Prix. The regulation changes designed to reduce downforce produced by the floor area are said to have compromised lower rake designs, like the W12, more than higher rake designs like that of Red Bull RB16B. Pundits Lawrence Barretto, Scott Mitchell, Mark Hughes and Edd Straw made Red Bull favourites for the first race of the year due to a stronger performance than Mercedes during testing. Although Verstappen did beat the Mercedes cars of Hamilton (2nd) and Bottas (3rd) to pole at the season opener, Hamilton narrowly won from Verstappen with Bottas finishing third. Williams driver and Mercedes protege George Russell (who drove the W12's predecessor the W11 at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix) suggested that the W12 and the Williams FW43B could have issues with wind sensitivity and could explain the struggles of Mercedes relative to Red Bull in Bahrain.