Wolff: We expected to be a little behind

Before the weekend in Bahrain, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff spoke about preparing for the season…

Toto Wolff: “The winter tests in Bahrain did not go well for us. There were problems with reliability, on the second day it was not possible to find the necessary settings. But the main goal was to collect information about the car – and we succeeded. On the last day we made good progress, having set the direction of further work in the short period between testing and the upcoming race.

Based on the results of the tests, it is difficult to get a clear picture of the competitiveness of the machines, especially since they only lasted three days. Based on how last year ended, we expected to most likely be a little bit behind. However, we are very confident that this machine can work, that we are in better shape than we were a year ago. And we are happy to accept that challenge. This season includes 23 race weekends, which give us all the chance to improve.

Before the start of a new season you always worry whether you have been in this sport for decades, years or weeks. During the winter we put a lot of energy into the creation of W14 and now we look forward to the start of the season with great impatience. This weekend we will give everything – and we will give the very best until the last round of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.