Wolff baffled by Mercedes 'going backwards' despite major Bahrain GP upgrade
Photo: Race Pictures
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Henry Eccles is a freelance Formula 1 journalist for GPblog, covering breaking news, live race blogs, and features across the F1 calendar. Since joining in 2026, he has produced high-volume reporting on the sport’s biggest stories, alongside feature pieces including analysis and historical content.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has been left confused by the Silver Arrows' disappointing performance during Qualifying at the Bahrain GP in Malaysia. Despite Mercedes bringing their first major upgrade package since May, drivers Kimi Antonelli and George Russell finished P4 and P8, respectively, in Sepang.
Armed with major aerodynamic updates for the first time since the Canadian GP, hopes were high the German squad would continue the dominant form seen so far in 2026, particularly after Russell's imperious victory in Baku last weekend.
Even in the final practice session before Bahrain GP qualifying, Antonelli set the fastest time in Sepang, nearly three tenths quicker than Red Bull's Max Verstappen - although Russell lagged behind by 0.6s in P4.
It was nevertheless a surprise to then see Mercedes so far behind come Qualifying, with Antonelli finishing P4 and half a second down on the Dutchman in Q3, and Russell a lowly P8. Both drivers will be bumped up a place due to the engine penalty for Verstappen's teammate Isack Hadjar, but Mercedes team principal Wolff could not hide neither his confusion nor frustration with the result
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Speaking to Sky Sports F1 post-qualifying, Wolff reflected on the disappointing Saturday. He said: "Very difficult to understand.We have been a little bit caught out on Friday with some car behaviour that we didn't see earlier. But then you can say it's very hot, and the tarmac is very different from all the tracks.
“We looked really good in the morning. You know, we seemed to have, at least with Kimi, made a step in understanding. And then qualifying was a little bit back to what we saw before, just no performance.”
Wolff: 'Something else going on' over lack of Mercedes pace
Photo: Race Pictures
Focusing specifically on the problems in Sepang, Wolff highlighted Mercedes' pace deficit to Verstappen on straight line speed, usually a clear strength for the Silver Arrows throughout the 2026 campaign so far.
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"It looks like we are very draggy," Wolff added. "Because it's the first time that we're losing a lot of time on the straights, especially to Max. And then through the low speed, at Turn 2, we're not able to turn the car. There's just too much understeer. So, overall, things we haven't seen earlier.”
It was then put to the Austrian that rivals Ferrari and Red Bull could have been sandbagging during the morning's practice session, but Wolff instead pointed to an internal problem at Mercedes, whose upgrades he still believes will work despite failing to find 0.3s more in pace coming into the weekend.
“Something else is going on, and we have to understand," Wolff said. "This is now working through the data and putting our heads together, because we still believe that the upgrade works. We just need to understand why not here.
“You're expecting three tenths to kick in, and it looks like three or four or five tenths backwards. This is the first time we have missed out on the top three by quite a chunk. But I guess we will find a solution.”
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