Toto Wolff and Mercedes ready for a "real dogfight" in Bahrain

Max Verstappen completed the Friday double in Bahrain. The Dutchman topped both FP1 and FP2, but the order remains uncertain. Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says his team are in a "real dogfight" ahead of the opening Grand Prix in 2021. 

Tight at the top

In winter testing, Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas were both struggling with a twitchy car whilst Red Bull had a stable car. Mercedes closed the gap on Friday, but it's unsure how much more they have in their pockets ahead of qualifying. 

"The night has fallen and the conditions haven't come towards us. It's a real dogfight. Even the long-runs, it's very close that even every kilogram in fuel load can make a big swing. So we don't really know. We are closer here than we were in testing, but I don't know where to position us against Red Bull," Wolff told Sky Sports. 

"There's not a lot you can do with the tyres, so it's set-up work tonight. You can see on the long runs from our competitors that they've been pretty flat, so not much degradation."