Today Mercedes clearly dominated the field, however, I think it's too early for such doom and gloom comments.
We need to take into consideration several factors and look at the bigger picture.
Please note that these are only theories based on some known and historical facts, but they are still theories. With that said, they would definitely be things I'd consider if I were in their shoes.
From an engine point of view there a few facts we need to look at:
1. Only 8 races have so far been confirmed. At the time of writing, no other races have been confirmed and it could well be that no more races will be, in which case, only 1 of each engine component will be allowed without a penalty. Historically we all know Honda are generally more cautious than their rivals, and having stated themselves that they want to go through the season penalty free, it could well be they might be holding back.
2. Further to the above, the spec 1.1 is an upgraded version of the spec 1 they tested in pre-season testing. Historically, we know Honda are always extremely cautious when launching a new spec. So again, they might be holding a little back for the first race until they are more confident. I wouldn't be surprised if in the second round of Austria they turn the engine up just that little bit more.
3. Someone commented on Honda losing their quali mode. I truly doubt this - why would they? If anything, they might use a less aggressive map - for the exact reasons mentioned above. Quali modes degrade engines very quickly, so I wouldn't be surprised that if this is indeed the case, they would only reserve their highest modes for later in the season when they have better clarity on the amount of races and/or if they fall behind Mercedes in the championship. Keep in mind that last year Red Bull used 5 engines and they were never in championship contention. Using such mappings had much less risk as there was less at stake.
And from a chassis point of view:
4. My impression has always been that Red Bull's high rake philosophy is hard to get right. Not only design-wise but also setup-wise. I doubt Max would have said that he wasn't fully happy with the balance if it really wasn't the case. My one and biggest worry is that if there is a fundamental issue with this year's design and not just setup, fixing it might be quite tricky with the token system.
I truly believe that there's more to the fact that Red Bull were slightly slower than last year's quali. This just doesn't add up - especially knowing that Honda gained more power in the last year and the RB15 wasn't exactly an easy car to either set up or drive. Unless, something is truly fundamentally wrong with the RB16. Personally, I believe there's much more potential in this year's package that still needs to unleashed.
The facts that Mercedes' car has been historically more tame to set up, and with the team being so phenomenal at starting a championship running from the first race, does not help much in this case.
However, I still believe that we should wait until Hungary to call it. Until then, let's see how tomorrow goes and take it from there
