Wolff: “It’s not the start to the season we were hoping for”

Mercedes suffered two consecutive defeats in Melbourne (Australia) and Sakhir (Bahrain). Sebastian Vettel managed to beat the W09s each time and now has a 17-point lead over the reigning world champion before the Chinese GP played this Sunday in Shanghai.

“It’s not the start to the season we were hoping for, recognised Toto wolff, the executive director of Mercedes Motorsport. We limited the damage and lost the victory in the last two races. Both races were decided with close gaps, but that doesn't make things any easier. In reality, it’s probably even more frustrating. »

“The competition is extremely close in 2018 and Melbourne was a reminder that there is absolutely no room for imperfections or mistakes in the title fight. Even though we saw a completely different event in Bahrain and lost for different reasons, the message remained the same: to win this year, we have to present our best game., underlined the Austrian.

Mercedes will have a good opportunity to take its first victory of the year at the Chinese GP this weekend on the Shanghai circuit where Lewis Hamilton won his first victory of the season last year.

“Our team had the right reaction after the checkered flag in Bahrain. Instead of being satisfied with this double podium finish, everyone realized that second and third places were the minimum result that could be expected with both Red Bull and Kimi (Räikkönen) offside. We have started to analyze what went wrong in Bahrain in order to make progress for China. We are happy to return to racing this week because we will not have to wait too long. Shanghai has been a good circuit for us in the past and I hope we can turn things around.", added Toto Wolff.