Mind games between Red Bull and Mercedes already in full swing

Toto Wolff set things in motion after GPblog asked him about Verstappen’s excellent runs on the first day of winter testing in Bahrain. “I was hoping that they were worse than they are, because they've done a very good job. The car, the power unit, (they) are the benchmark at the moment I would say. And then obviously you have Max in the car, that combination is strong.”

The Mercedes team boss added that Red Bull was a second per lap faster, something that was contested by Red Bull itself, including by technical director Pierre Waché and Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson, who listened to the story wide-eyed. “One second faster than everybody?!” he said in astonishment when he was told about Wolff’s claim. The New Zealander did acknowledge that things are looking good so far for the Red Bull Ford power unit.

George Russell indicated that Red Bull is without any doubt a step ahead of the rest. “I don't think anybody should really be looking at us. You should be looking at the most competitive car on the grid, which right now is the Red Bull,” he stated.

McLaren's Lando Norris expressed similar sentiments. Max Verstappen mostly saw it as mind games he has no interest in playing.

Charles Leclerc agreed with Verstappen’s words, although the Ferrari driver also named the Austrian Formula 1 team as the favorite—along with Mercedes, which the Monegasque believes still has something up its sleeve.

He placed Ferrari behind them, ahead of McLaren.“I think everybody's trying to throw the ball to the other guys, so it's normal at that point of the season,” Leclerc told, among others, GPblog.

Leclerc did, however, see clear signals from the competition, particularly regarding the power unit.

“I think Red Bull have shown very impressive things power unit wise since the start of the test, especially here. Mercedes are showing some very impressive things as well sometimes, but I would say they are hiding a lot more,” he explained.

Ferrari team boss Frederic Vasseur said he was happy his team wasn’t being mentioned as often and thus wasn’t as much in the spotlight during the first test week.

Still, fingers were certainly pointed at the Scuderia: for instance, Red Bull figurehead Waché said the three other top teams are currently a step ahead, and McLaren team boss Andrea Stella pointed to Mercedes and Ferrari on the final test day.

One thing is clear: the 2026 season may not have officially started yet, but the mind games between the teams are already in full swing. After the shakedown in Barcelona, Mercedes was labeled the big favorite; after the first test week in Bahrain, now Red Bull has that tag. Who knows which team will be named the benchmark after the second week in Bahrain?