In a moment of great sporting respect, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has publicly saluted the remarkable turnaround achieved by Red Bull Racing this season. Speaking after Max Verstappen’s dominant performance in Singapore, Wolff gave plenty of praise for his long-time rivals.
“I really think that you need to take your hat off to what Red Bull has done this season, How they have developed the car and how it’s all come together as a package and then you put Max Verstappen in the car and he feels a thing that wants it to drive, then these are the results,” Wolff said.
The comments were made after Verstappen’s back-to-back victories, first at the Bahrain Grand Prix held in Malaysia and then a commanding win on the streets of Marina Bay. After a challenging first half of the 2026 season, Red Bull introduced a substantial package of aerodynamic upgrades around the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. They made changes to the floor, diffuser, sidepods, mirrors and halo that appear to have unlocked the car’s potential, allowing Verstappen to rediscover his confidence.
Wolff warns Mercedes as Verstappen rediscovers his best form
Wolff highlighted the critical combination of technical progress and driver synergy. When Verstappen feels the car is responding exactly as he wants, the results will follow. In Singapore the Dutchman was by far the quickest driver in both qualifying and the race, just as he had been the previous weekend.
Looking ahead, Wolff spoke about the remaining races and the longer-term picture. Mercedes is still working to extract the full benefit from its own recent upgrades. “Let’s see if, when our upgrade hopefully starts to work and land in a place where we think it should be, whether we can be competitive against him. One thing is for sure, next year it’s full on the fight between the teams and Red Bull is part of that.” he added.
Rather than downplay Red Bull’s progress or offer excuses, Wolff chose to acknowledge the quality of their work. As the 2026 season enters its final stretch and attention already turns toward 2027. Red Bull has rediscovered its rhythm and Max Verstappen is driving with great confidence so Mercedes knows it cannot afford to stand still.
