Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff isn't getting carried away with rival comments suggesting his outfit has a bigger advantage than it enjoyed last season, insisting nothing is guaranteed.
The team have enjoyed an issue-free six-days of testing so far, completing more mileage than any other team whilst also posting competitive lap times, despite running only the Medium and Soft tyre.
Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa have both predicted another season of Mercedes dominance going by early test results, but Wolff isn't getting carried away with the comments.
"If drivers say that, it is flattering," he said. "But it doesn't win us races. It is still early days and it is pre-season testing.
"But I don't want to under-value what we did. If we compare 2016 to 2015, and 2015 to 2014, considering that the regulations are stable and we have optimised around the regulations and the cars are more reliable, everybody is doing more laps.
"I have the feeling that it was the best season start we have had in the last couple of years. But again, we haven't seen what the [other] front-running cars are capable of extracting performance wise.
"We haven't seen the Ferrari. We haven't seen the Williams. We haven't seen the Red Bull. Let's stay feet on the ground and see where we end up on Saturday afternoon in Melbourne. This will give us more indication."
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