Mercedes boss Toto Wolff anticipates that Ferrari will be a constant threat for the remainder of this year’s Formula 1 World Championship.
The Scuderia has taken two wins from the last three weekends, one for each of their drivers, with Lewis Hamilton taking a maiden win for the team in Barcelona, followed-up by Charles Leclerc’s victory at Silverstone.
Mercedes were tipped to have the best package even before the season opener in Melbourne, and proved it by taking consecutive victories in the first six rounds. However, Ferrari has emerged as a serious challenger to the Silver Arrows.
At Silverstone, Charles Leclerc controlled the race up to the chequered flag but numerous issues for Andrea Kimi Antonelli left him unable to hold onto a podium.
The current championship leader eventually finished outside of the points – allowing Ferrari to creep closer in the Constructor’s Standings.
When asked if he was surprised by Ferrari’s performance at the British Grand Prix, Wolff told media, including Motorsport Week, that Mercedes needed to “take a look” at their own performance.
“We need to look at ourselves. They said before the weekend that they were going to be lacking energy at this track, they haven’t.
“They were a strong competitor, and this is to be expected now for the rest of the season.”
“Make your own luck,” Wolff says
As Ferrari has picked up pace from the start of the year, George Russell has also found more momentum. The British driver scored his second win of the season at the Austrian Grand Prix, and a spate of bad luck for Antonelli has helped him narrow down the gap to his teammate.
Russell sits just 25 points behind the Italian, shaking off his own bad luck that limited his performance in the first stage of the campaign.
“You need to make your own luck,” Wolff said. “And I think at Silverstone, he just held on to a car that he didn’t feel was good. At the end, Max had the accident; Lewis wanted to go for the win and pitted, and that hopefully has given [Russell] a bit of positive momentum.”
Mercedes will be hoping to extend its title leads by maximising the most of its package at Spa-Francorchamps, when F1 arrives there for Round 10 next weekend.
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