Wolff Warning for Bottas and Hamilton

Mercedes chief Toto Wolff has warned his drivers Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas heading into the new F1 season.

Hamilton goes into the 2018 season as big favourite to win his fifth world title. Hamilton's teammate Bottas is also in good shape for the coming season following a good performance in testing in Barcelona.

But Wolff has warned his drivers against complacency ahead of the season opener in Australia this weekend. The Austrian said:

"Both our drivers seem reasonably happy with our new car, but it remains yet to be seen how well it performs when driven in anger."

The Mercedes CEO and Team Principal also added:

"Last year, the competition was very close and there was no moment where we could afford to relax,

"We will tackle this new season with the same dedication, team spirit and energy that has made us strong in the past. We start this long season on zero points like every one of our rivals. And we have to give it everything to be successful again this year.

"Now, it's time to find out what we've got: like the old saying goes, when the flag drops, the bulls*** stops."

Wolff's comments may come off the back of Red Bull's Christian Horner deeming Mercedes as 'very much favourites' for the new season.