The data concerning Mercedes' performance during the first testing week in Bahrain has emerged after Max Verstappen's 'sandbagging' claims.
This week, the first official test ahead of the 2026 Formula 1 campaign took place around the Bahrain International Circuit.
During the off-season, it was widely speculated that Mercedes could be the team to beat in 2026, with George Russell an early favourite to win the world title.
However, on Wednesday, after the first testing session, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff picked out Red Bull as the benchmark.
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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."
However, Verstappen appeared to disagree and he hinted that Mercedes could be 'sandbagging' - a term used to describe teams deliberately running below maximum potential to disguise the car’s actual performance.
The Red Bull superstar 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."
Verstappen added: "They are obviously trying to shift the focus to us because we did so many laps on Wednesday. But you have to look at it from both sides. Just wait until Melbourne and see how fast they suddenly go on all the straights."
Were Mercedes 'sandbagging' in Bahrain?
Lap times set by Mercedes and Red Bull this week have been compared in a bid to work out whether Wolff or Verstappen was telling the truth.
As per GP Blog, Verstappen appeared 'considerably faster' than Russell when running the soft tyres.
It was noted that during his race simulations, Russell tends to slow down as he progresses through the programme. That pattern was spotted for different compounds of tyres.
On average, Verstappen's soft tyre lap times were 1:38.340; in comparison, Russell's were around 1:40.675.
On Wednesday, both drivers did shorter long runs on hard tyres, with Verstappen averaging 1:37.876 and Russell 1:39.904.
Meanwhile, Russell's teammate, Kimi Antonelli, produced stronger and more consistent long runs on hard tyres, averaging 1:38.631. Verstappen's teammate Isack Hadjar averaged 1:39.146.
In truth, the timings are largely irrelevant at this stage as the fuel loads and engine modes are not known.
However, it has to be said that Mercedes did end the week with the two fastest times; Antonelli was the quickest after setting a best lap of 1:33.669.
Russell, meanwhile, was second with a 1:33.918.
Verstappen's fastest lap of the week was a 1:34.798, which was only good enough for seventh.
Sky Sports' Ted Kravitz quizzed Russell on whether Mercedes have been 'sandbagging', the Brit responded simply with: "No."
Topics: Mercedes, Formula 1, Max Verstappen
Marcus Chan