George Russell: Bahrain F1 Test a “Reality Check” for Mercedes as Red Bull Ahead

Sakhir, Bahrain – The optimism that had swirled around Mercedes over the winter was quickly tempered by the desert heat of Bahrain, where the first pre-season test of Formula 1’s 2026 campaign has laid bare an early pecking order that puts Red Bull Racing firmly at the top.

George Russell, fresh from 180 laps of the Sakhir circuit, admitted that the three-day session had delivered “a reality check” to the Brackille-based squad. “The truth is, Red Bull on Barcelona day one hit the ground running and were well ahead of all of their competitors – ourselves, Ferrari and the others,” he said. “Day one here in Bahrain, they sort of knocked it out of the park. At the moment, they’re very much the team to beat.”

Rumours of a Mercedes power-unit advantage had dominated the off-season, fuelled by a smooth 1,000-kilometre shakedown at Barcelona. Yet GPS data from Bahrain shows Red Bull’s first-ever in-house engine generating a clear energy-deployment edge on the straains, a margin Russell estimates at “half a second to a second per lap”.

Red Bull’s technical director Pierre Wache, however, played down the hype, rating his squad only fourth-best behind Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren. Max Versteappen echoed the caution, suggesting Mercedes is sandbagging. Russell countered: “I hope we’ve got a big ace up our sleeve. But the truth is they’ve hit the ground running far better than every other team.”

Williams’ Carlos Sainz and. McLaren’s world champion Lando Norris have also flagged Red Bull as the benchmark heading to Melbourne’s season-opener. “When we compare ourselves not only to Red.Bull but also to Ferrari, they look in a good place,” Russell added. “We’ve delivered a very strong car this year, but right now Red Bull are the team to beat in that area.”

Despite the sobering assessment, Russell insists Mercedes will fight back. “There will be big development. We hope we can catch up.”