Though having seen his team fail to win any of the first three races, Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff thinks the 2018 Formula 1 could be “legendary”.
The Austrian has talked up the battle between the German manufacturer and arch-rivals Ferrari with Red Bull also now looking to get in on the act after Daniel Ricciardo’s victory in China.
With a much greater sense of anticipation over which of the top three teams will be ahead at each given weekend, Wolff admits that feeling carries over within the team.
“So far, this year has all the ingredients for one of those legendary F1 seasons,” he told the official Mercedes website. “A season that fans will look back on with smiles on their faces in years to come.
“And it’s not just the fans at home or at the race track who are excited – we feel the same, and we know that we have a massive challenge on our hands.
“Last year, we were in a tough fight with Ferrari. However, it was nothing compared to the intensity of this year’s battle.”
The end of their engine dominance, at least against their Italian rival, and problems extracting the optimum performance from the tyres have been identified as the main reasons for the end of Mercedes run of success.
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However, it is exactly this type of battle, Wolff claims, the team at Brackley have desired as they prepare for the next chapter in Azerbaijan.
“Not everyone likes this kind of challenge – but we love it,” he said. “Each member of our team joined this sport for these moments.
“We’re all together in an amazing battle in which every detail counts and with an outcome no-one can predict.
“We’re going into the race weekend in Baku feeling excited about that unpredictability.”