Mercedes watching Red Bull closely after P3 finish in Melbourne

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has admitted Mercedes is keeping a close eye on Red Bull after Max Verstappen's impressive third-place finish at the Australian Grand Prix.

Many had expected a repeat of 2018 with a fight between Mercedes and Ferrari for the championship however it appears as though Red Bull has genuine pace, so much pace that Mercedes is looking over their shoulder despite Valtteri Bottas taking race victory by 20 seconds.

Lewis Hamilton was able to hold Verstappen off for third suggesting that the Silver Arrows had a pace advantage in hand however Wolff believes that Red Bull could be genuine contenders this season.

"Honda has certainly made a huge step forward," he told Formula1.com.

"If you look at the speed trace it looks like a very different Red Bull than before.

"They are very fast on the straights and that is good to see because we want them in the mix and to have a great fight.

"I’m really happy for Honda. It’s their first podium since their return [to F1 in 2015] and they deserve it.

"They went through some really tough times. Seeing the Honda on the podium and seeing how happy the guys are is great."