Last Updated on February 12 2026, 11:04 am

Wolff’s Surprise Confession as Norris Tops Day One and Mercedes Stumbles in Bahrain – The first official Formula 1 test day of the new era in Bahrain delivered lap times, long runs, and perhaps most notably, a striking admission from Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff.

Reigning world champion Lando Norris ended the day with the fastest lap time, but Red Bull made the strongest impression, and Wolff conceded that his rivals set the early benchmark.

 

 

Norris Edges Out Verstappen in a Close Battle for First Place

After eight hours of running at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Norris sat atop the timesheets with a 1:34.669. The McLaren driver, who had initially trailed Max Verstappen by several tenths earlier in the day, turned up the pace late in the afternoon to snatch P1.

Verstappen came close to responding. The Dutchman pushed hard in the final minutes and appeared poised to challenge Norris’s time. However, a sloppy final sector cost him dearly. He crossed the line just over a tenth of a second behind, having been on a potentially quicker lap.

Charles Leclerc took third for Ferrari with a time of 1:35.190. However, he also had a moment in the fast S-curves late in the session when he briefly lost control and ran wide.

While headline lap times always attract attention, the small margins and changing track conditions made direct comparisons difficult. Nevertheless, Norris’s late surge underlined that McLaren intends to remain firmly in the title conversation.

 

Mileage Matters: Verstappen Leads the Way

If lap times told one story, mileage told another. Verstappen completed more than 130 laps over the course of the day — more than anyone else — highlighting Red Bull’s focus on gathering data rather than chasing speed.

Williams and Ferrari also logged significant mileage, with Carlos Sainz completing 77 laps in the morning session alone. For teams adapting to a radically revised set of regulations, reliability and data collection may be more valuable than achieving the fastest lap times.

As many engineers will tell you, the “test world championship” is often decided by consistency and clean running rather than speed. On that metric, Red Bull looked formidable.

 

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Mercedes and Audi encountered early difficulties

Not all teams enjoyed smooth preparation.

Mercedes had a frustrating afternoon. Rookie Kimi Antonelli was largely confined to the garage due to technical problems and managed only a handful of laps after the lunch break. For a team that many had tipped as preseason favorites following their strong performance in Barcelona, it was an unexpectedly quiet day.

Audi also suffered a setback when Nico Hülkenberg’s engine cut out abruptly on the track. The German driver was able to limp back to the pits, and the issue was eventually resolved. Sky analyst Ralf Schumacher described the problem as a typical “teething issue” for a project still in its infancy, especially given the scale of Audi’s rebuild from its Sauber base.

Elsewhere, the Racing Bulls were sidelined by a fuel leak, effectively ending their day early. Aston Martin’s program was cut short, too, after an engine “anomaly,” with Lance Stroll finishing more than five seconds behind.

 

 

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New Cars, New Challenges

The first day also demonstrated how this new generation of Formula 1 cars feels different to drive. Several drivers struggled to extract consistent performance.

Lewis Hamilton, now at Ferrari, remarked that the car sometimes felt closer to an F2 machine in terms of handling characteristics. The learning curve was visible on track. Sergio Pérez flat-spotted a tire after locking up heavily into Turn 1, and Alex Albon briefly ran off in his Williams.

Teams experimented with revised start procedures. Leclerc practiced standing starts at the pit exit while engineers refined clutch settings and power delivery.

Despite some early criticism from drivers, McLaren boss Zak Brown dismissed suggestions that the sport had taken a step backward. He believes the cars are still fast and that development under the new regulations is just beginning. Brown predicted a four-way fight at the front between McLaren, Red Bull, Ferrari, and Mercedes, though the order remains uncertain.

 

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Surprise Performances and Quiet Confidence

One of the standout performances came from Esteban Ocon, who briefly ran the fourth fastest time in the Haas, behind only Norris, Verstappen, and Leclerc. For a team that is often fighting at the back, this was an encouraging sign, though testing times must be treated cautiously.

Williams team principal James Vowles described a “difficult winter” but was relieved to have completed a largely trouble-free day after setbacks in Barcelona. With a clear development plan in place, Williams hopes to close the gap before Melbourne.

Pierre Gasly, the final driver to take to the track in the afternoon, steadily added laps for Alpine after a delayed start to his session.

 

Wolff’s Shock Confession: Red Bull the “Benchmark”

The most eye-catching moment of the day, however, came not on the circuit but in the media pen.

Even before testing began, Mercedes was widely regarded as the favorite under the new rules, particularly amid speculation about a potentially superior power unit. Some rivals even questioned whether the Silver Arrows had found a way to exploit compression ratio regulations to their advantage.

But in Bahrain, the narrative shifted.

Toto Wolff admitted that Red Bull currently appears stronger. “At the moment, I would say so,” he said when asked if Red Bull was making the best impression. “They can use far more energy on the straights than anyone else.”

 

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Wolff: Red Bull’s advantage is ‘the benchmark’

According to Wolff, the advantage is significant. “We’re talking about a second per lap over several laps in a row,” he revealed, describing Red Bull as the early “benchmark.”

He pointed to a long-run duel between George Russell and Verstappen as a particular reality check.

“I had hoped they would be weaker, but they did a very good job,” Wolff conceded.

The Austrian was careful not to sound alarmist, noting that Mercedes was satisfied with aspects of its own program. However, this tone marked a notable shift from the team’s pre-test optimism.

Whether Bahrain truly represents a setback for Mercedes or if they are holding back information to quiet engine controversy, as Ralf Schumacher suggested, remains unclear.

What is certain after day one is that Red Bull, with Verstappen and an efficient energy deployment system, has set the bar high early on. With Norris quick, Ferrari competitive, and Mercedes searching for answers, the 2026 season is already shaping up to be more open — and more intriguing — than many expected.

 

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NEXT ARTICLE – Ferrari confident FIA ‘catch up’ process can’t be abused

During the interminable process by which the all new F1 powertrains were specified, concerns were expressed by a number of manufacturers that Formula One may find itself in a similar situation as the last time the power units were redesigned.

Mercedes came out all dominant, with Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg winning all but three Grand Prix that season. Further evidence of the Mercedes 2014 package can be seen in the fact that Rosberg and Hamilton delivered eleven 1-2 finishes and were denied three more down to DNF’s due to reliability.

 

Manufacturers are capped for new engine development

The Brackley based team went on to dominate for almost a decade, winning a record and incredible eight consecutive constructor titles. Of course the predictable racing and championships became a strain on fans and the other team’s partners and so when the next F1 powertrain era was in the planning, the FIA did everything in their power to ensure F1 is not dominated again by one manufacturer.

As is the case for the teams each year, financial restrictions were brought in restricting the manufacturers to how much they can spend annually on their PU’s. That amount was set at $90m a year from 2022-2025 and will rise this season to $130m.

This is in stark contrast to the reported $1bn Mercedes invested in research and development for the all new 2014 hybrids and is intended to level there playing field. Further restrictions were applied in terms of test bench time allowed, similar to the way the chassis manufacturers are restricted in time for aero development…CONTINUE TO READ THIS ARTICLE