Verstappen was second fastest on the first day of Bahrain testing [Getty Images]<\/p>\n
Red Bull are “the benchmark” in Formula 1 as pre-season testing begins in earnest in Bahrain, says Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff.<\/p>\n
World champion Lando Norris ended the first day of the first of two tests in Bahrain fastest by 0.129 seconds from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.<\/p>\n
But Wolff said that he had seen on Mercedes’ data that Red Bull’s new engine was more effective than those of rivals.<\/p>\n
“They are able to deploy far more energy on the straights than everybody else,” Wolff said. “You are speaking a second, over consecutive laps.<\/p>\n
“On a single lap we have seen it before, but now we have seen it on 10 consecutive laps with the same kind of straight-line deployment.<\/p>\n
“I would say that as per today, on the first official day of testing, which is always with the caveat of that, they have set the benchmark.”<\/p>\n
New engine designs are part of the biggest rules overhaul in F1 history this season, with power-units, chassis, tyres and fuel all new.<\/p>\n
The 1.6-litre V6 turbo hybrid engines have a near 50-50 split between the internal combustion engine and electrical components in terms of total power output.<\/p>\n
Energy recovery and deployment are central to performance with engines that are served of electrical energy, and the battery is depleted and recharged on virtually every straight.<\/p>\n
There are four ways of recovering energy: under braking; revving the engine in corners; lifting off early before a corner and harvesting while still on full throttle.<\/p>\n
With so much resting on the hybrid engines, any gain in deployment could be critical in terms of competitiveness.<\/p>\n
Headline lap times in testing are notoriously unreliable as indicators of form as the specification in which the cars are running is not made public.<\/p>\n
Norris set his best time on the C2 compound tyres, Verstappen on the softer C3.<\/p>\n
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was third fastest, 0.521secs slower than Norris, ahead of Haas driver Esteban Ocon.<\/p>\n
Verstappen drove all day for Red Bull, but most other teams split the running between their two drivers.<\/p>\n
The exception were Aston Martin, for whom only Lance Stroll drove the new Adrian Newey-designed car at the start of the team’s engine partnership with Honda.<\/p>\n
Stroll was more than five seconds off the pace. Fernando Alonso takes over the car on Thursday.<\/p>\n
New F1 rules ‘ridiculously complex’ – Hamilton<\/a>F1 2026 cars in pictures at Bahrain testing<\/a><\/p>\n Wolff’s remarks come in the context of an ongoing row over the legality of the Mercedes engine.<\/p>\n Rivals believe Mercedes have found a loophole that allows them to run the engine above the permitted compression ratio.<\/p>\n This – a measurement of the cylinder displacement between the two extremes of the piston stroke – is limited to 16:1, and the rules dictate it will be measured at ambient temperature with the engine at rest.<\/p>\n Mercedes’ rivals believe they have found a way to use materials technology and thermal expansion to run the engine to a higher ratio and are pushing for a rule clarification before the start of the season next month.<\/p>\n Mercedes have not denied they are doing this, but insist the engine is legal.<\/p>\n Rivals have claimed the trick is worth as much as 0.3secs per lap, while Wolff said the gain was “a few horsepower – in England you would say a couple, which is more like two and three.”<\/p>\n He added: “Lobbying from the other engine manufacturers has massively ramped up over the last few months.<\/p>\n “I mean, secret meetings, secret letters to the FIA, which obviously there is no such thing as secret in this sport.<\/p>\n “Everybody was a little bit too excited about the performance of the Mercedes engine-powered teams.<\/p>\n “And I think that our colleagues from the other brands have been carried away a little bit that this could be embarrassing, which I don’t think it is at all.”<\/p>\n On the prospect of the rules changing before the start of the season, he said: “There is a governance process. And if that governance were to vote for an engine regulation change, you just have to take it on the chin.”<\/p>\n But he said: “The very essence of Formula 1 is to find performance, to attract the best engineers and the best people, give them freedom to develop regulations and once it goes for you and another time it goes against you.”<\/p>\n Williams team principal James Vowles, who is a Mercedes customer, said: “The PU that we have in the car is completely compliant with the regulations. This is a meritocracy where the best engineering outcome effectively gets rewarded as a result, not punished as a result.<\/p>\n “Right now, I don’t think there is a person in the pit lane that can tell you what is the best PU. We are focused on one detail.<\/p>\n “My hope is that sense prevails and we as a sport recognise that we are here to be a meritocracy. The best engineering solution wins as a result of it and therefore we are where we are right now.”<\/p>\n 1 Lando Norris (GB) McLaren, one minute 34.669 seconds<\/p>\n 2 Max Verstappen (Ned) Red Bull, +0.129secs<\/p>\n 3 Charles Leclerc (Mon) Ferrari, +0.521<\/p>\n 4 Esteban Ocon (Fra) Haas, +0.909<\/p>\n 5 Oscar Piastri (Aus) McLaren, +0.933<\/p>\n 6 George Russell (GB) Mercedes, +1.439<\/p>\n 7 Lewis Hamilton (GB) Ferrari, +1.764<\/p>\n 8 Pierre Gasly (Fra) Alpine, +2.096<\/p>\n 9 Nico Hulkenberg (Ger), Audi +2.192<\/p>\n 10 Alex Albon (Thi) Williams, +2.768<\/p>\n 11 Kimi Antonelli (Ita) Mercedes, +2.960<\/p>\n 12 Arvid Lindblad (GB) Racing Bulls, +3.276<\/p>\n 13 Carlos Sainz (Spa) Williams, +3.552<\/p>\n 14 Sergio Perez (Mex) Cadillac, +4.159<\/p>\n 15 Gabriel Bortoleto (Bra) Audi, +4.481<\/p>\n 16 Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Cadillac, +4.202<\/p>\n 17 Lance Stroll (Can) Aston Martin, +5.214<\/p>\n 18 Franco Colapinto (Arg) Alpine, +5.661<\/p>\n Drivers who did not run on Wednesday:<\/strong><\/p>\n Isack Hadjar (Fra) Red Bull<\/p>\n Fernando Alonso (Spa) Aston Martin<\/p>\n Liam Lawson (NZ) Racing Bulls<\/p>\n Oliver Bearman (GB) Haas<\/p>\n Active aero and overtake mode – F1’s new terminology<\/a>Cadillac unveil split livery in Super Bowl advert<\/a>Russell ‘wants to go head-to-head’ with Verstappen<\/a>Barcelona ‘shakedown’ offers first hints of F1 2026<\/a>Biggest rule change ever and Brit teen – what’s new in F1 in 2026?<\/a>F1: Chequered Flag<\/a><\/p>\nEngine trick ‘worth a few horsepower’<\/h2>\n
Fastest times on day one of first Bahrain test<\/h2>\n