Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff insists his team will continue to fight in the face of a renewed challenge from Ferrari.
Having rebounded from their problems in Australia, once again, it was the Scuderia that caused their own downfall in Bahrain, as a dominant performance in qualifying unravelled in the race.
As a result, it allowed Mercedes to build a significant early advantage in both championships but, with the warning shot sent, Wolff feels far from comfortable.
“Two races into the 2019 season, it may seem like we’re in a strong position,” he began, looking ahead to this weekend.
“We have 87 points, just one below the maximum score, but the Constructors’ standings do not tell the full story.
“The truth is that we weren’t as quick as our direct competitors throughout qualifying and the race in Bahrain as Ferrari was considerably faster on the straights and this added up to several tenths around one lap.
“Nevertheless, the saying goes that ‘in order to finish first, first you have to finish’ and the combination of solid performances from the team, reliability of our systems and a strong drive from our drivers secured us the one-two.”
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Speculation over Ferrari’s engine is mounting with reports of power output surpassing 1000 horsepower and even a new Shell fuel in focus after Red Bull boss Christian Horner said it smells like “grape juice”.
Mercedes too have claimed the deficit down the straights is now likely to be the norm as there isn’t the development capacity to close the gap at least in the short-term.
Despite all that, however, the German manufacturer isn’t backing down.
“The challenge we are facing doesn’t daunt us – it’s uplifting,” Wolff stated. “We will keep pushing to extract the maximum performance from our package to deliver the best race we can.
“We will try and exert pressure, maximise our opportunities and keep working hard to develop our overall package.
“We’ve seen exciting races so far this season and we’re looking forward to the next fight in Shanghai.”
