Toto Wolff warns of massive Red Bull advantage: “They gain a second on the straights”. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff highlights Red Bull’s superior energy management in Bahrain.

A new era in Formula 1

Mercedes arrived in Bahrain for the pre-season tests amid widespread speculation that their car could be the one to beat. However, by the end of the first morning session, team principal and co-owner Toto Wolff wanted to temper expectations. Speaking to Sky Italia, the Mercedes team boss pointed to Red Bull as the benchmark at the moment, describing the RB22 as “a car with a more complete engine and a faster overall package.”

Alarm or reality?

During a lunch break media briefing, Wolff elaborated further, suggesting that Mercedes currently lags behind Red Bull in terms of energy management. In particular, long runs have highlighted Max Verstappen’s ability to produce more consistent lap times compared to Mercedes drivers, emphasizing the Austrian team’s advantage in sustained performance.

Toto Wolff said: “Red Bull is able to deploy a lot more energy on the straights compared to everyone else. We’re talking about a gain of one second per lap, and not just for a single lap but over multiple consecutive laps. Previously we had seen it for one lap only, now it’s noticeable over ten laps in a row—they show the same behaviour on the straights consistently. They’ve done an excellent job, they are the reference point. And then, of course, they have Max in the car—it’s a very strong combination.”

These revelations from the Bahrain paddock underscore the immense technical challenge of the 2026 power unit transition. With Mercedes seemingly struggling to match Red Bull’s sustained energy deployment, the focus now shifts to whether the Silver Arrows can find a software or hardware solution to bridge that one-second gap before the competitive action begins in earnest.