Wolff defends Verstappen and Red Bull: 'Still the benchmark'

Mercedes were surprisingly quick during the weekend at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Canada. George Russell put his car in pole position on Saturday, and on Sunday he finished third. Lewis Hamilton started P7 but finished fourth on Sunday. Team boss Toto Wolff sees good developments, and four contending teams in the constructors' championship.

Max Verstappen may have won the Canadian Grand Prix, yet Mercedes (partly due to Sergio Perez's disastrous weekend) has caught up with the Dutchman. Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes seem to be the four teams in the constructors' championship. A triple-header in Europe is next up for the F1 teams (Spain, Austria and Britain).

"Maybe Barcelona will be interesting," Wolff opens to Sky Sports. "I don't know if they (Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren) are strong there. I mean, Austria was always their ground. We said McLaren was stronger during their comeback last year, so it's never been a good (track) for us," the Austrian said.

The Mercedes team boss sees that the competition is all very close. "I think you can't discount Max and the Red Bulls, they are still the benchmark. But McLaren has also made huge strides and don't forget Ferrari. They were not visible today, but a fortnight ago they were the benchmark. It's four teams that are competing."