Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has claimed rivals Red Bull have set the early “benchmark” ahead of the 2026 F1 season after the performance of their new power unit at the first pre-season testing session in Bahrain.
Mercedes had secured status as the pre-season favourite after the five-day shakedown event in Barcelona in January, having showed plenty of reliability and outright speed in Spain, though it was their rivals who impressed in Bahrain, with Wolff surmising that their engine had produced the best performance so far.
