The Manufacturers ranking does not reflect reality according to Toto Wolff

Lewis Hamilton did not fail to make it clear at the end of the Bahrain Grand Prix: the Ferrari will be a real threat in China, where the power of the transalpine bloc and the speed of the SF90s in a straight line could do wonders.

A point of view adhered to Toto wolff, boss of Mercedes-AMG F1, for whom the almost perfect balance sheet of his team at the end of the first two 2019 Grands Prix in Australia and Bahrain does not offer a realistic image of the performance of the single-seaters.

“After two races in 2019, it may seem like we are in a strong position, comments the manager. We have 87 points, just one short of the maximum possible score. But the rankings don't tell the whole story.

The truth is that we did not perform as well as our direct competitors during qualifying and the race in Bahrain. The Ferrari was much faster on the straights, which was several tenths over a lap.

However, the adage goes that “to finish first, you must first finish” and the combination of the team's strong performance, the reliability of our systems and the control of our drivers ensured us the double. »

Facing the Ferraris of Sebastian Vettel, and especially of Charles Leclerc, who saw victory elude him in Bahrain, but who intends to take his revenge in China, Mercedes and Toto Wolff intend to give the strongest possible response in Shanghai to the SF90, bombed favorites.
 
“The challenge we face does not intimidate us, it is gratifying, adds Wolff. We will continue to apply our efforts to optimize the maximum performance of our package to deliver the best possible racing.

We will try to keep the pressure on, maximize our opportunities and continue to work hard to develop our package as a whole. »