Wolff explains: 'We did that at the beginning of the year'

Mercedes has made an excellent start to the Russian Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas managed to set the fastest times during the first two free practice sessions, giving it confidence heading into Saturday afternoon's qualifying session.

With Red Bull Racing announcing on Friday that Max Verstappen will receive a new engine, Hamilton's rival will start Sunday's race in last place. It means the seven-time world champion will have an ideal opportunity to take a lead over Verstappen in the world championship.

Wolff is expecting a lot from the weekend, he tells Motorsport.com. "I think we have a good chance here. If everything goes according to plan, we will start at the front and I hope we can finish with a lot of points. I think at the moment we are just looking at the development of the power unit in terms of reliability issues, which don't exist yet. So we are looking from weekend to weekend."

The team boss stressed that Hamilton should not count on any more updates. "The truth is we don't know what others are doing. It's just a distraction. For us, choosing the right time for updates is important. And we did that at the beginning of the year."