Wolff: Mercedes always knew Leclerc would be a threat

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has claimed his team always expected Charles Leclerc to be a world title threat since his move to Ferrari at the beginning of the season.

Leclerc was denied a first grand prix victory last weekend, following an engine issue that saw him lose a cylinder of his Ferrari engine with just 11 laps remaining of the race.

The 21-year-old Monegasque driver had been comfortably in the lead in Bahrain, following a dominant qualifying session, but could only manage to scrape a podium finish after the engine malfunction.

Mercedes rocked home to record another one-two finish, but Wolff conceded that Ferrari, and Leclerc, deserved to win the race and the Silver Arrows' boss believes the new Scuderia man will be a strong force, and will challenge for the world title in his maiden season at the Italian team.

"I think we have always expected him to be a threat," Wolff explained to Crash.net. "He is in a great car and has the skills and the character to be very successful.

"It's a challenge that we really enjoy. And I'm sure Valtteri (Bottas) and Lewis (Hamilton) will enjoy. We want to fight against the best ones in the best machines. When you see Lewis fighting Sebastian (Vettel) in a car and engine that wasn't on Sebastian's level, that motivates them even more."