Max Verstappen reveals chilling Mercedes testing theory

Four-time F1 world champion Max Verstappen has a sneaky theory about Mercedes' pace in Bahrain, as mind games between the two teams continue.

Following a very impressive Barcelona shakedown last month, Mercedes were thought to be the favourites heading into the 2026 season amid the new regulation changes, but their pace has somewhat evaporated during the first official pre-season test in Bahrain this week.

George Russell only managed to finish fourth and sixth in the timesheets, whereas Kimi Antonelli finished 11th on the first day, but was unable to put in a single timed lap on the second day as Mercedes suffered reliability issues.

Red Bull, meanwhile, have been impressive, with Verstappen putting in more laps than anybody else on day one and finishing second on the timesheet.

It led Mercedes boss Toto Wolff to claim that Red Bull were significantly faster than all of the other teams on the straights, and that they had done a remarkable job with their new power unit, which for the first time has been built in-house.

But Mercedes' geometric compression ratio trick has Verstappen questioning quite how much power Mercedes are hiding in Bahrain. Wolff has previously stated that their clever power unit trick is only worth around 2-3 brake horsepower (bhp), but Verstappen believes it could be significantly more.

The Dutchman has hinted that Mercedes could be sandbagging - a term commonly used in F1 when a team hides their true pace until it really matters - and believes that they will still be the fastest team when we get to the season-opening Australian Grand Prix next month.

"You definitely have to add a zero to that," Verstappen told media about the bhp gain. "And maybe even more. But, you know, I fully understand what they are trying to do these days.

"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.

"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."

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What is Mercedes' geometric compression ratio trick?

Simply put, the geometric compression ratio within a power unit is the ratio between the largest and smallest volume inside a cylinder (current F1 engines have six cylinders).

When the piston inside the cylinder is at its lowest point, it's at its maximum volume. When it's at the highest points of its stroke, it's at its minimum. The compression ratio is simply the ratio between those two volumes.

Previously in F1, teams were allowed a geometric compression ratio of 18:1, but that has been reduced in 2026 to a maximum of 16:1.

Mercedes have reportedly found a way for the compression ratio to be at the allowed 16:1 when the engine is stationary, but then increase to the previously allowed 18:1 when moving, a clever trick which could be worth as much as 0.3 seconds per lap.

The mind games between Mercedes and Red Bull ahead of the 2026 season have been fascinating, and expect it to rumble on into the season if indeed Mercedes are the dominant outfit in the sport.

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