Max Verstappen brushed off the claims made by Toto Wolff, regarding the Red Bull RB22, as \u201cdiversion tactics\u201d from the Mercedes boss.<\/p>\n
Wolff has named Red Bull<\/a> the \u201cbenchmark\u201d out of the gate in Formula 1\u2019s new era, the team\u2019s very first engine \u2013 developed in partnership with Ford \u2013 catching Wolff\u2019s eye. According to Wolff, Red Bull is able to deploy more energy down the straights than rivals, worth \u201ca second a lap.\u201d Verstappen was giving Wolff\u2019s comments a wide berth.<\/p>\n Max Verstappen accuses Toto Wolff of \u2018diversion tactics\u2019<\/p>\n Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a> for news you can trust.<\/p>\n Engine talk has dominated the F1 2026 pre-season. From the Mercedes compression ratio saga, to Red Bull turning heads, the battle between teams and manufacturers has reached boiling point before a wheel has even been turned outside of pre-season.<\/p>\n Rivals have formed a united front against Mercedes, which has allegedly found a way to confirm to the new, lower engine compression ratio of 16.0, to be measured at ambient temperature, yet achieve a higher ratio at track temperature.<\/p>\n Reports on this subject over the off-season also pointed to Red Bull, though it appears that Red Bull has joined the Mercedes opposition in advocating for the introduction of testing compression ratios at hot temperatures.<\/p>\n Speaking on the opening day of Bahrain testing, Wolff had talked up the work of Red Bull on its new engine and challenger, the RB22, which he described as the \u201cbenchmark\u201d package.<\/p>\n Red Bull\u2019s four-time World Champion, Max Verstappen, was asked by PlanetF1.com\u2019s Thomas Maher for his reaction to Wolff naming Red Bull as the standard of the F1 2026 grid.<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, let\u2019s look back at the last 10 years of winter testing. I don\u2019t think you can say who is the World Champion on day one, especially with a new rule set like this,\u201d said Verstappen.<\/p>\n \u201cFor me personally, it\u2019s more just like diversion tactics.<\/p>\n \u201cBut that\u2019s okay. I focus on what we\u2019re doing here with the team, because honestly, for us, there\u2019s still so much to learn, these new rules that is so complex.<\/p>\n \u201cWe just want to do our laps and, just go from there, to be honest.\u201d<\/p>\n Latest on the Mercedes F1 2026 engine stand-off<\/p>\n Mercedes F1 2026 compression ratio debate nears boiling point ahead of homologation<\/a><\/p>\n Newey addresses Mercedes engine row as F1 rivals push 2026 rule change<\/a><\/p>\n But, regardless of whether any games are being played or not, there is no debating that the Red Bull engine has been impressive.<\/p>\n The Red Bull Powertrains Ford operation was formed from scratch, so there was an expectation that it would be a work in progress when its first engine was sent into F1 battle.<\/p>\n Yet, the engine has thus far proven reliable, and crucially, competitive.<\/p>\n Verstappen was asked whether he expected such a good start for the Red Bull Ford engine, and whether he believes it can be an F1 2026 race-winning engine.<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, you never know, right?<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, of course, I visited the factory. I mean, it\u2019s next to the car, so you see what they\u2019re doing. They have all the tools. And of course, also the people working there, they have good experience.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I think the start that we have had is just, yeah, very nice. And everyone is very happy with that. The lap counter we did yesterday [136 laps], for example, that\u2019s just great. That\u2019s exactly what we want to do. But it\u2019s not a given.<\/p>\n \u201cBut at the same time, they have worked, of course, for many years now, to try and be here and be ready.<\/p>\n \u201cBut if it\u2019s going to be enough to win, I don\u2019t know. You don\u2019t have a clue at the moment if that\u2019s the case.<\/p>\n \u201cAlso, what you see here now in testing, you won\u2019t see in Melbourne for many cars, many engines as well. And it\u2019s normal, of course, that other people are hiding and trying to probably make us look really good.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the same time, we don\u2019t care. We just focus on ourselves. We just try to do the best we can.<\/p>\n \u201cBut yeah, I\u2019m happy, of course, with how everything started, but there\u2019s still such a massive room for improvement at the same time as well, because of how complicated everything is.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite the encouraging start to F1 2026 for Red Bull, Verstappen has given a far from glowing assessment of the new F1 regulations, calling them \u201canti-racing.\u201d<\/p>\n Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp<\/a> to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.<\/p>\n You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel<\/a> for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!<\/p>\n