The top teams in Formula One continued to play their mind games ahead of the 2026 season as Mercedes' George Russell called Red Bull's new engine "pretty scary".

Following the conclusion of the first pre-season test in Bahrain, Mercedes looked to be one of the stronger teams as Kimi Antonelli set the fastest time in Sakhir, with Russell just 0.249 seconds behind him.

Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton posted the third-fastest time on the third day, and while Oscar Piastri completed the most laps (161), McLaren team-mate and reigning champion Lando Norris did not take part in the final session.

There have already been plenty of tension and rivalry building ahead of the new season, which starts on March 6-8 in Australia, with no team willing to call themselves outright favourites amid the new rules and engine regulations.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff labelled Max Verstappen the "benchmark" after his showing in pre-season so far, while the four-time world champion called Wolff's comments "diversion tactics".

Meanwhile, Ferrari's Charles Leclerc claimed that "Mercedes are hiding a massive amount" when it comes to their new engine and performance.

Rounding up the third day of Bahrain Pre-Season Testing with these stats... 

Who has impressed you the most this week? #F1 #F1Testing pic.twitter.com/VwVLNVjtf6

— Formula 1 (@F1) February 13, 2026

Russell, who finished fourth in the Drivers' Championship last year, believes Red Bull are a reason for concern.

"Probably the most concerning thing for everyone is looking at Red Bull's performance, especially on their engine side. They look a step above everyone else," said Russell.

"You're talking in the order of half a second to a second in [energy] deployment over the course of a lap.

"So, it's pretty scary to see that difference."