Red Bull sandbagging? James Vowles suspects rivals are hiding true power unit potential. James Vowles suggests Red Bull may have reduced engine power during the Bahrain pre-season tests.

F1 | Red Bull managed engine power down in tests? Vowles on top team strategies

James Vowles believes Red Bull deliberately lowered the power of their engine during the Bahrain pre-season F1 tests, even though it had been praised as the best power unit for the 2026 season. During testing, Toto Wolff, George Russell, and Carlos Sainz all agreed that Red Bull currently has the benchmark engine. However, James Vowles suggested that strategic games are still ongoing among the top four teams.

Red Bull engine under scrutiny

Mercedes entered the new season as a favorite but tried to shift attention toward Red Bull. Toto Wolff mentioned that Red Bull’s engine had a one-second per lap advantage, which George Russell described as “scary.” Carlos Sainz also confirmed that the Red Bull engine, developed in-house in collaboration with Ford, represents a clear step forward, while the Austrian team downplayed the hype surrounding their power unit.

“There are games being played,” James Vowles said in an interview with F1 TV. “Red Bull looked really strong until we started discussing their power unit. From that point on, they lowered it quite a bit.”

Top teams in the 2026 era

James Vowles is convinced that Ferrari, Mercedes, Red Bull, and McLaren remain the four leading teams in this new era of Formula 1. “Ferrari, really, congratulations to them. They are introducing major innovations, making progress, and I believe they are competitive as they are,” he stated.

“Mercedes, simply because they were strong from the first day and competitive across all sessions, cannot be ruled out. What I mean is that even in the paddock right now, depending on the games being played with power units and fuel, it’s hard to really understand the values.”

“Moreover, we will see fluctuations from track to track, based on the characteristics of each team’s power unit and car development. So even if Ferrari could win a race here today, it doesn’t mean they will in Melbourne,” added the Williams team principal.

The 2026 pre-season has shown that Red Bull has built a platform capable of challenging at the front, regardless of the strategic games played by their rivals. While the team remains cautious and continues to hide its ultimate performance, the data suggests that the new Ford-powered unit is a significant step forward, promising a much more competitive start to the championship than many anticipated.