Following weeks of denial that Mercedes is the new pacesetter in Formula 1, Toto Wolff has acknowledged for the first time that the W17 is quick.
After their strong display in Barcelona testing, all eyes were on Mercedes as F1 headed to Bahrain for the two official pre-season tests.
The W17 in the hands of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli turned heads in the paddock for its drivability and reliability, racking up 432 laps in the final three days.
But caution was raised by the team rather than optimism, as it continues to battle efforts to have its engine compression ratio innovation reigned in.
Wolff has acknowledged the pace of the W17, sharing his relief following years of relative underachievement in F1.
“It’s a relief that we started testing and it actually feels decent,” Wolff said to media, including Motorsport Week.
“The drivers are quite pleased with the car.
“On the stopwatch, we know that we are not miles off, and that was the case in all of the last three or four years that we had.”
Toto Wolff targeting the front of the field?
As the first race of the season draws ever closer, Toto Wolff has reiterated top teams are separated by the smallest of margins.
“We don’t really know where everybody stands, because 10 kilogrammes of fuel load can make three to three and a half tenths of a second in lap time difference,” he said.
“You can kind of best guess where everybody is. I would say it’s four teams at the moment, pretty much the usual suspects.
“I would think we are part of the group that can compete at the front.”
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