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Robert Doornbos spoke to his ‘spies’ in China, and they gave him information about Mercedes that will terrify their rivals.
Mercedes have had a perfect start to the Formula 1 season, earning two consecutive one-two podiums in the first two Grands Prix and in the first Sprint.
Kimi Antonelli’s maiden Grand Prix put the ribbon on a brilliant weekend in Shanghai for Mercedes. Toto Wolff even called the podium a career highlight, as Lewis Hamilton joined the two Mercedes drivers on the stage.
A maiden Grand Prix win for Kimi Antonelli, as well as a first podium appearance for Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari! 🍾
What was your favourite moment of Antonelli's debut win?
After the weekend, there has been some talk of a rivalry brewing between Russell and Antonelli, as the two Mercedes drivers lead the drivers’ championship standings with just four points between them.
If the title race does come down to the two Mercedes drivers, both of them could have an advantage in the latter stage of the season, as Mercedes aren’t utilising their engine to its full capacity, at least not during races.
READ MORE: Mercedes have only dialled their 2026 F1 engine to ‘3.5 out of 5’ so they don’t ‘show off’
Robert Doornbos has heard Mercedes aren’t using ‘party mode’ engine setting during races
Robert Doornbos spoke on the Pit Talk podcast about Mercedes’ dominant performance at the Chinese Grand Prix.
The former F1 driver revealed that he had heard about Mercedes having more power within the engine that they are not harnessing during races, but only during qualifying sessions.
“I knew, with the information that I got, Mercedes would be the best engine, for sure… But with their engine, they have such a competitive advantage already in qualifying, going from Q2 to Q3.”
“They just have this extra power. They used to call it, ‘Party Mode.’ But it’s still in Mercedes’ DNA to install this in the engine. Due to my spies in China, I just heard that Mercedes isn’t even running on full engine mode at the moment…”
“They have more to give. They’re not running the engine to the limit. They’re not pushing the boundaries at the moment. They know what are the moments that they have to shine. When one or both of the cars make it to Q2, they get this extra (boost), and the engine will just perform better in Q3.”
“That’s about four-to-five-tenths on some tracks. That’s only qualifying. In the race, they cannot run this mode all race long. But they have something in the back pocket that they don’t need to stretch the engine as much as Red Bull is doing with their powertrain…”
READ MORE: Toto Wolff has outlined what Mercedes ‘absolutely must avoid’ after Kimi Antonelli’s maiden F1 win
Are Mercedes’ rivals hiding behind 2026 ‘excuses’?
Robert Doornbos maintains Mercedes aren’t sandbagging despite not using full scope
When asked whether Mercedes are sandbagging to start the season to lull other teams into a false sense of security, Doornbos clarified his comments.
While Mercedes are not using the entire potential of their engine, they still have to push in order to keep the Ferraris at bay, and Ferrari will have to work to figure out how they can catch up to them.
“Not sandbagging, they’re definitely pushing. They have to push to stay ahead of the Ferraris. But they have something in the back pocket. It’s up to Ferrari to find out what it is in qualifying mode so they can push their engine even further.”
Ferrari are going to try to level the playing field with some key upgrades during the upcoming five-week hiatus in the hopes of catching up with Mercedes.
But Mercedes could benefit greatly if the FIA decrees that no major changes or upgrades can be introduced during this hiatus.
While Mercedes are running away with the championship as of now, Ferrari cannot be ruled out just yet, as they have shown they can compete with Mercedes if they address some key concerns.
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