Toto Wolff saw something for the ‘first time’ as Max Verstappen destroyed Kimi Antonelli at Sepang

Toto Wolff expressed shock after Mercedes suffered major pace deficits to Max Verstappen during qualifying for the 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix, which was relocated to Sepang, Malaysia. Red Bull driver Verstappen captured his first pole position of the season with a lap time of 1:35.130, beating Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton in second. Mercedes rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli ended up 0.501 seconds off Verstappen's pace, while teammate George Russell finished eighth, 0.741 seconds behind.

Wolff stated it was the first time this season the car lost significant time on straights and suffered from severe low-speed understeer. Mercedes introduced a substantial aerodynamic upgrade to the W17 featuring a new floor, sidepods, and bargeboards, which simulations indicated would yield a three-tenths improvement. Despite Antonelli topping the earlier third practice session, the expected performance failed to materialize in qualifying, leaving Mercedes to analyze their setup data.