After seven years of supremacy and a season of easy dominance, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff admitted on Friday that he expects a “dog fight” with rivals Red Bull at this weekend’s season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.
The Austrian team chief, who has overseen seven consecutive constructors and drivers title doubles, had hoped that urgent improvements to the team’s 2021 cars would put them on terms in Friday’s opening practice sessions.
But instead, it was Red Bull’s flying Dutchman Max Verstappen who twice topped the times to prove he is the fastest man ahead of Sunday’s opening race.
Defending seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton was only third in hot, dry and windy conditions at th…
Keep on reading: Mercedes team chief Wolff predicts ‘dog fight’ in Bahrain