Wolff pinpoints favourite: 'If Red Bull can do that, they're the benchmark'

According to Toto Wolff, Red Bull Racing is "the benchmark" this season. Despite Mercedes' poor start, the team boss expects them to be able to fight for victories this season.

During the second free practice session for the Australian Grand Prix, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton finished P11 and P13 respectively. It looks like it will be another tough weekend for the team, which is still struggling with problems.

The battle between Ferrari and Red Bull Racing is exciting, and so far the other teams are not getting close to the pace of the top two teams. Wolff remains optimistic about the rest of the season despite the large gap. He expects that Hamilton and Russell can still compete for victories.

Red Bull the benchmark

"I assume that we can still win this year. But that doesn't come naturally, you have to fight for it. At the moment Red Bull and Ferrari are ahead of us. It will be difficult to catch up with them, but we know where the bar is," he says in an interview with the Austrian Kronen Zeitung.

The Mercedes team boss points to the favorite this season: "If Red Bull can still save weight, they are the benchmark."

In fact, the Red Bull is ten kilos too heavy according to Helmut Marko, but rumors suggest that the RB18 has lost weight for the Australian GP.