Max Verstappen and Red Bull have recently looked like the biggest threat to Mercedes heading into the 2027 season.

While Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari briefly threatened, there have never been any serious doubts that Mercedes would win both championships this year. The Silver Arrows won the first six races and eight of the first 10, with Hamilton and Charles Leclerc interrupting the streak.

McLaren enjoyed a purple patch either side of the summer break as Lando Norris won in Hungary and the Netherlands. The 2025 world champion should have taken victory in Madrid too, but a disappointing upgrade in Azerbaijan has halted the team’s momentum.

In terms of points, Verstappen has been closest to Antonelli since the summer break (127 vs 146). He had to wait until Malaysia for his first win of the season but he followed it up with another in Singapore, part of a six-race podium streak.

Mercedes may have been running F1 engines ‘on the safe side’ in Singapore and Malaysia

However, speaking on the Cortito y al Pie podcast, veteran Spanish F1 journalist Carlos Miquel relayed a paddock ‘rumour’ that casts Verstappen’s victories in a new light.

There are murmurs that Mercedes turned down their engines at Sepang and Marina Bay, two of the most challenging races of the year when it comes to managing temperatures. That naturally cost them engine power.

Because they had such a significant lead in both championships, they knew they could afford to be cautious, without unduly influencing the internal battle between Antonelli and George Russell.

Reliability has arguably been Mercedes’ biggest weakness this year, with Russell suffering three mechanical retirements and Antonelli one. If there were countermeasures put in place for Malaysia, they weren’t enough to prevent the British driver stopping on track.

“He’s got no rivals,” Miquel said of Antonelli. “Everyone else is trailing behind.

“Red Bull had a bit of a run, but the rumour doing the rounds during the hot races – in Singapore and Malaysia – was that the Mercedes engines were being run a bit on the safe side for fear of them breaking down due to the heat, so perhaps Red Bull’s lead over Mercedes was just a mirage.”

Russell and Antonelli have both taken engine penalties already this year, and the former is expected to require another before the end of the season.

There were strong suspicions earlier in 2026 that Mercedes were gaming the ADUO system by slightly turning their engines down. To the surprise of almost everyone in F1, the FIA declared that Red Bull had the best ICE.

This prevented RBPT from making any upgrades, while Mercedes are allowed one this year and one next.