To the surprise of many, Max Verstappen managed to put his RB16 on pole position in Abu Dhabi last Saturday and drove to victory without any threat. Mercedes crossed the finish line in second and third place but were barely able to do anything against Red Bull throughout the race. However, Christijan Albers believes Mercedes may have been turning down their engines.
Fresh wind through the engine
In De Telegraaf's Formula 1 podcast, Albers said: "No, Mercedes just let the fresh wind blow through. This is really Formula 1 being political. You just see that Mercedes has turned back the engines. You see in sector 1 and sector 2, there were moments in the race where Max was just much faster."
He continued: "You can say: 'He's driving with less wing'. Yes and no, I'm just sure they turned the engines back and now you get the politics of Mr Wolff and Lewis Hamilton that Red Bull is so strong and that they will be a competitor next year."
"Of course, they still have a lead," said Albers.
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"He (Hamilton) is just really good. I always get a little tired of that covering. You're still in a car that's six tenths faster and you're still five-tenths, four-tenths faster than Max Verstappen, which is the best driver on the field so far. You have so much margin-left and then that politics around it."
In other words: Albers doesn't take the words of Toto Wolff and Lewis Hamilton too seriously. "If we are very realistic, Mercedes still has a lead of half a second, four tenths of a second. And that sometimes becomes three tenths or two tenths. But that is more on the side of Verstappen, who does a super qualifying. I don't know if they have really gotten better."
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Japanese Grand Prix
Overview
Friday 27.03.26
Practice 1
02:30 AM
Practice 2
06:00 AM
Saturday 28.03.26
Practice 3
02:30 AM
Qualification
06:00 AM
Sunday 29.03.26
Race
05:00 AM
Friday 27.03.26
Practice 1
Fri 02:30 AM
Practice 2
Fri 06:00 AM
Saturday 28.03.26
Practice 3
Sat 02:30 AM
Qualification
Sat 06:00 AM
Sunday 29.03.26
Race
Sun 05:00 AM
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F1-stand 2026
Season
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | MercedesMER | 51 | |
2 | MercedesMER | 47 | |
3 | FerrariFER | 34 | |
4 | FerrariFER | 33 | |
5 | HaasHAA | 17 | |
6 | McLarenMCL | 15 | |
7 | AlpineALP | 9 | |
8 | Red Bull RacingRBR | 8 | |
9 | Racing BullsRCB | 8 | |
10 | Racing BullsRCB | 4 |
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