Max Verstappen wasn’t on track in Bahrain on Thursday, but the Red Bull charger still managed to dominate the headlines – not with lap times, but with his views on Formula 1’s new regulations as well as with a pointed dig at Mercedes.
The Dutchman painted a picture of strategic deception by of the Brackley squad, suggesting
Mercedes is deliberately masking its true performance, while a power struggle is underway behind the scenes
At the heart of the dispute lies the technical term currently haunting team briefings: compression ratio. Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has publicly downplayed the advantage of an alleged engine trick, estimating the gain at just 2–3 horsepower. Verstappen, however, dismissed that notion with barely concealed disbelief.
“You definitely have to add a zero to that! And maybe even more. But, you know, I fully understand what they are trying to do these days,” he said.
His remark landed like a grenade in a garage full of fuel, implying Mercedes is intentionally understating its engine’s potential while regulators weigh critical technical interpretations. The insinuation: Wolff is playing chess while others are still setting up the board.
Max’s Sandbagging Allegations
Verstappen went further, accusing Mercedes of sandbagging on a scale rarely admitted in modern F1 politics.
“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,” he 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.”
To Verstappen, the narrative casting Red Bull as early favorites is not praise – it is misdirection. He called the idea of crowning champions during winter testing “nonsensical.”
“Let's look back at the last 10 years of winter testing. I don't think you can say who was the world champion on day one, especially with a new ruleset like this,” the four-time world champion explained.
“For me personally, it's more like diversion tactics. But that's okay. I mean, I focus on what we're doing here with the team. Because honestly, for us, there's still so much to learn.
“This new ruleset is so complex that we just want to do our laps. And yeah, just go from there.”
Despite the political storm swirling around him, Verstappen insists he remains unfazed.
“No, everyone can say what they want. I’m at a point where it already doesn’t really bother me at all. It doesn’t affect me, especially not if the car isn’t nice to drive. Then I’m busy with other things, working hard to get the GT3 car in a good place, for example.”
In a sport where speed is measured in thousandths, the psychological battle may already be running at full throttle.
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