Wolff's Red Bull claims ring hollow

THE distance between Mercedes and the rest of the field in testing and then in Melbourne on Sunday, suggests Max Verstappen was correct to question Toto Wolff’s narrative that Red Bull had the “benchmark” power unit this season before the opening round of this season F1 calendar at the Australian GP.

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The four-time champion suggested that Silver Arrows’ team principal Wolff was full of it and leading the media on. This weekend’s Mercedes domination, which saw them eventually claim a 1-2 podium, backed up his claim. From the outset of preseason running, Verstappen made it clear he was cautious about reading too much into testing talk.