Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff has suggested at a growing threat from Red Bull heading into the 2019 Formula 1 season.
The past two years the German manufacturer has faced Ferrari as their main competition, with the Anglo-Austrian team competing on high downforce or less power-sensitive circuits.
However, now with Honda engines in the back and based on the progress made over the past year, Wolff does think they can close the gap more regularly.
“Yeah it could well be because we have seen there is no more pattern anymore,” the Mercedes chief was quoted by RaceFans.
“There is not one team that dominates one kind of circuit. It has changed and Honda’s engine certainly looks very powerful now.”
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Toto doesn’t believe engines will be what decides the 2019 pecking order though…
“I think that the biggest impact will be the completely new aerodynamic regulations. That will change everything upside down,” he claimed.
“Somebody might find a loophole or a regulation or understand how these cars work earlier than others so I think there is a big, big variable in those new regulations.
“We will have teams right up there that are not on the radar today.”