Mercedes in the underdog role: ''We still have to close the gap with Ferrari''

Mercedes is still the big favourite for the upcoming Formula 1 season, but the competition is panting in the neck. Toto Wolff is not reassured at all that his race stable in Austria will be able to take first place immediately.

''The Ferrari engine was very strong last season and I think we haven't seen the real power of Ferrari in the winter tests yet. Only in qualifying we'll see where everyone stands, but as always I'm always very pessimistic before," says Wolf in conversation with Motorsport-total.com.

All in all

Ferrari did not perform well during the winter tests in February. Analyses showed that even Racing Point could get pretty close to the Italian race stable, where they were still the second team on the grid in 2019. So the question is whether they went backwards, or deliberately kept back during the tests.

''We still have to bridge the gap with Ferrari and make sure we have a reliable and strong engine again. Honda and Renault shouldn't be ruled out either, because everything is on a fairly even level'', concludes Wolff. Mercedes was quick in the winter tests, but it was noticeable that the Germans stopped several times and seemed to have problems with the reliability of their engine.