Red Bull rejects 'benchmark’ tag as Bahrain mind games heat up

Red Bull’s technical director Pierre Waché has officially entered the ring to trade blows with Toto Wolff in a war of words over who truly holds the upper hand ahead of the start of the 2026 season.

While the Mercedes boss has spent the week in Bahrain publicly labeling Red Bull as the "benchmark" of the new era, Waché is busy painting a much grimmer picture for the Milton Keynes outfit.

As Max Verstappen eyes the Mercedes garage with suspicion – predicting a massive power surge from the Silver Arrows in Melbourne – Waché has taken a more analytical, yet equally spicy, approach to debunking the favorite status.

The ‘Top Three’ Illusion

Despite the praise coming from his rivals, Waché insists that the Red Bull-Ford partnership is currently chasing the tail lights of its biggest competitors. According to his data, the hierarchy is not what the fans might expect.

“It’s difficult to say [where we are], but we are not the benchmark for sure,” Waché stated bluntly. “We clearly see the top three teams; Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren are in front of us. It looks like, from what our analysis is, that we are behind.”

However, the Frenchman is well aware of the games being played with fuel loads and engine modes.

“That’s where we think we are, but it's difficult to say about the others because of the run plan of everybody, the level of fuel they run, the level of power they run. It's difficult to say, but this is currently our analysis – that it could be wrong to be honest,” he added.

“We don't spend too much time on that, we try to focus on how to improve our runs.”

The perfectionist Frenchman’s dissatisfaction with the car’s current state is palpable.

“I’m never happy with my own work! Clearly, we have some improvements to do, some challenges around this type of regulation,” commented Waché.

“With the level of grip that is quite low, and the level of downforce that is very low. The challenge to manage the traction after low-speed [corners] is very high, and that could be one of the keys.”

Fending Off the ‘Benchmark’ Label

While Toto Wolff has highlighted Red Bull’s energy deployment as the class of the field, Waché claims those early advantages have already evaporated. He believes the competition has a clear edge in the technical areas that matter most.

“I think clearly in low-speed traction they look very strong. Some straight-line speeds are also interesting from Ferrari and Mercedes, especially on low fuel,” Waché noted.

“The problem is that the assessment of the performance is difficult until we are on the same, exactly the same, fuel level during qualifying in Melbourne.”

He highlighted specific flaws that the team has struggled to shake off.

“We clearly see some weaknesses in our car, and we relate it to these weaknesses and the feedback that we have from Max and Isack [Hadjar] on the car, based on where we lose time to the others. And that is why I'm saying this.

“Clearly, traction at low speed and medium-speed corners – that was not our strength already last year – and they are still stronger than us there.”

• Read also: Verstappen accuses Mercedes of ‘diversion tactics’ amid PU broil

Even the early-session dominance in energy management is now, according to Waché, a thing of the past.

“It’s difficult to say. It’s true that during the first day especially, we were a little bit closer to what we should have,” he said.

“Then you start to see the tendency of the others going into the same direction, and now even, I would say, a little bit better than us. I think maybe our factory people and our simulation people in the factory found it quicker, not the optimal, but the un-optimal [way of doing it].

“The others were taking a little bit more time to achieve that, but at the moment I would not say that anymore.”

Despite the lack of pace, Waché did find room to celebrate the sheer survival of the new DM01 power unit.

“I’m surprised that the engine people did a fantastic job in being able to put a car together and run so many miles,” he admitted.

“We have to recognise the fantastic job that the engine people have done. And to be able, as a start-up – because it is a start-up of three and a half years – to make an engine, to not be stupid on the track is a massive achievement.”

Red Bull may be playing the underdog for now, but in the world of F1, the "start-up" usually has a few more tricks up its sleeve before the lights go out in Australia.

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