Toto Wolff insists rivals Red Bull are ‘in a league of their own’ and writes off Mercedes’ chances of triumphing in F1’s season-opener in Bahrain after Lewis Hamilton finished down in NINTH in Friday’s second practice
- The first Grand Prix of the season is due to take place in Bahrain on Sunday
- Mercedes struggled in Friday’s practice, with Lewis Hamilton off the pace
- Red Bull looked strong, and Toto Wolff believes they are clear of the field for now
- He has claimed that Mercedes cannot compete for victory at the moment
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has dismissed his team’s chances of winning the season-opening Grand Prix in Bahrain on Sunday after admitting that Red Bull are currently a long way clear of the chasing pack.
Mercedes and Red Bull were involved in a gripping battle for the Formula 1 championship last season, with Max Verstappen eventually pipping Lewis Hamilton to the title in controversial circumstances.
However, Wolff has conceded that the Silver Arrows are not ready to compete with their rivals for victory right now.
Mercedes chief Toto Wolff does not think Mercedes can win the opening Grand Prix in Bahrain
Wolff has insisted that Red Bull are the clear favourites heading into the season-opening race
When asked if Mercedes could realistically expect to triumph in Bahrain, Wolff responded: ‘As it stands, no. Red Bull is in a league of their own.’
Wolff’s comments followed a disappointing Friday for Mercedes as George Russell finished fourth in the second practice session, while Hamilton was down in ninth place on the timesheets.
Hamilton was clearly frustrated, and echoed Wolff’s view that Mercedes will struggle this weekend as he pointed out that the team are facing significant issues with their car when compared to previous years.
‘I am just realistic, and at the moment, like I told you last week, we are not going to be in the race for a win,’ he told reporters.
‘If you look at the Red Bulls, they are a long, long way ahead, in the region of eight to nine tenths, and Ferrari are half a second to six tenths ahead.
Lewis Hamilton does not expect to be competing for victory on the opening weekend
‘So we are a long way off, and we are not bluffing like people assumed we were.
‘We have had small problems in the past, but we are faced with much, much bigger problems this year, and everything we do to try and fix it doesn’t really change that.
The seven-time champion is trying to remain upbeat, though, and insisted that Mercedes would be trying everything to close the gap to Red Bull over the coming weeks.
He continued: ‘It appears as though this will be a long-term fix and not one for the short term.
‘The mindset is still to be the best we can be. It is not ideal but we will pull together and try and fix it.’
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