P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Despite claims from rivals that it’s 2026’s “benchmark” team, Red Bull says it’s starting the season with the fourth fastest car at best
Red Bull acknowledges they may have the fourth fastest car in F1 this season, despite other teams calling them the benchmark for 2026.
Mercedes’ Toto Wolff highlighted Red Bull’s impressive performance due to their new power unit’s energy efficiency, developed by a team with prior Mercedes employees.
While Red Bull’s new engine has shown promising pace and reliability during testing, they maintain that Ferrari, Mercedes, and McLaren are ahead based on their own analysis.
Red Bull’s technical director applauds the engine team’s exceptional work but dismisses claims of being the benchmark team, emphasizing the need to focus on self-improvement.
The team is involved in discussions on potential changes to compression ratio tests, aligning with Audi, Ferrari, and Honda, advocating for fairness in the system.
Despite ranking themselves as the fourth fastest, Red Bull’s focus remains on enhancing their performance rather than comparing with competitors in specific areas like low-speed traction.
