Toto Wolff Names Red Bull F1 2026 Benchmark

Formula 1, Sportrik Media - Toto Wolff believes Red Bull Racing has established itself as the benchmark team on the Formula 1 grid following its initial showing at the Bahrain pre-season test.

Max Verstappen enjoyed a productive morning session behind the wheel of the RB22, completing 65 laps and setting the fastest time of the session. The performance underlined Red Bull’s readiness as the sport enters the new 2026 power unit era.

For the first time, Red Bull is running its own in-house power unit through Red Bull Powertrains, developed in collaboration with Ford. After a positive shakedown in Barcelona last month, the team has carried that momentum into Bahrain, prompting an open acknowledgement from its rivals.

“Well, I was hoping that they were worse than they are,” Wolff told media, including RacingNews365. “The car, the power unit are the benchmark at the moment, I would say.”

He emphasised that the technical package becomes even more formidable when combined with Verstappen’s performance level.

“And obviously if you have Max in the car, that combination is strong.”

The 2026 regulations introduce a fundamental shift in power unit philosophy, with a 50-50 split between combustion and electrical output. The increased battery capacity and higher deployment potential place energy management at the centre of competitive performance.

Wolff highlighted Red Bull’s advantage in this area, particularly in straight-line energy deployment.

“Look at their energy deployment today,” he said. “They are able to deploy far more energy on the straights than everybody else.”

According to Wolff, the advantage was not limited to a single qualifying-style lap but extended across multiple consecutive runs.

“We are speaking a second a lap over consecutive laps. On a single lap, we have seen it before, but now we have seen it on 10 consecutive laps with the same straight-line deployment.”

He cautioned that it remains the first official day of testing, yet acknowledged that Red Bull has set the early reference point.

“I would say that as of today, on the first official day of testing, which is always with the caveat of that, they’ve done a day to set the benchmark.”

When asked whether Mercedes is currently able to match that level of deployment efficiency, Wolff offered a direct response.

“Today, no.”

The admission underscores the strategic importance of energy harvesting and deployment under the new regulations. With combustion and electric output now equal in performance contribution, optimising battery release over sustained runs could prove decisive over race distance.

While testing programmes vary in fuel loads, engine modes, and setup objectives, Mercedes’ internal assessment suggests Red Bull has begun the 2026 campaign in a position of technical strength. Whether that advantage translates into early-season dominance will become clearer as teams complete further mileage and refine their operational windows ahead of the season opener in Melbourne.