Wolff on rival Red Bull: 'It can swing both ways'

Toto Wolff hopes to strike back with Mercedes in Austria. Red Bull Racing have won the last three races, but at the Red Bull Ring Lewis Hamilton looks set to compete for pole position and victory again.

During the press conference of the FIA, Wolff gets asked if Mercedes are the hunters or are being hunted: "I think hunter, definitely. I think we were good in France, but we were wrong with how the race went. We could have been more active. In terms of race speed, we were good."

Wolff continued: "I think it can swing either way, depending on the circuit. France should have been more in our favour, Austria less so, but that said, the championship is long. There are at least 15 races to go. It will be about who can make the fewest mistakes. Who can optimize the strategy and collect points. DNFs can play a role, but certainly at the moment, we are chasing."

Red Bull a good competitor

After the race in France, Wolff told us they gambled and lost, but what did he mean? "I didn’t mean it in the way of gambling. I’m not a gambler, I don’t like to bet on something that I’m not in control of – but there’s two Red Bulls now that are in the window and Checo was perfect because he was just in the right window that, if we would have pitted, he was right there."

"Checo stayed out. And, we were racing between our two guys, for all the right reasons, I believe, but when you’re having a competitor that’s as good as Red Bull this year, you’ve just got to plan and execute in the best possible way for the team," the Mercedes team boss finished.