Ahead of the 2026 Formula 1 curtain raiser in Australia, Mercedes star George Russell has raised 'suspicions' about rivals Red Bull.
During last month's testing in Bahrain, the likes of Ferrari and Mercedes impressed, topping the time sheet on multiple occasions.
Meanwhile, McLaren and Red Bull looked slightly off the pace when compared with Ferrari and Mercedes.
However, it has to be said that teams often conserve their power and run different fuel loads during testing, which is mainly designed to test reliability rather than pace and performance.
Advert
Speaking in Bahrain last month, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff picked out Red Bull as the benchmark.
He said: "They are able to deploy far more energy on the straights than everybody else. You are speaking a second, over consecutive laps.
"I would say that as per today, on the first official day of testing, which is always with the caveat of that, they have set the benchmark."
In response, Red Bull star Max Verstappen was quick to disagree and accused Mercedes of 'sandbagging'.
The Dutchman said: "I fully understand what they are trying to do these days.
"Well, I can tell you one thing: just wait until Melbourne and see how much power they suddenly find. I already know that right now."
On Thursday, Russell spoke about Red Bull and claimed that they were 'suspiciously slow' during the second pre-season test in Bahrain.
The 28-year-old explained: "I think Red Bull looked suspiciously slow in the second test, to be honest. We had them down as arguably the quickest in the first test, and based on our numbers, they went seven-tenths slower compared to themselves in the second test.
"Whereas ourselves and Ferrari went a couple of tenths quicker with a few new upgrades to the car. So I'm struggling to wrap my head around how they've lost seven tenths in a week. I expect them to be very strong, to be honest. And that's why we're just all really intrigued to see how it pans out."
What is Sandbagging in F1?
The term 'Sandbagging' is often used in F1, especially during testing and practice sessions.
It is used to describe a team purposely hiding the car's true performance, in a bid to lure their rivals into a false sense of security.
In addition, it can be described as literally having bags of sand on the car, slowing it down on purpose and avoiding unwanted attention ahead of competitive sessions.
Topics: George Russell, Red Bull Racing, Mercedes, Formula 1
Marcus Chan