Mercedes on red alert as Wolff backs Hamilton in Shanghai
SHANGHAI — Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has backed Lewis Hamilton to exact swift revenge at Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix after a chastening loss in Formula One’s season opener in Australia.
Sebastian Vettel’s triumph for Ferrari put Mercedes on red alert ahead of the Shanghai race weekend, but Wolff insists Hamilton has what it takes to strike back after finishing second in Melbourne.
“Lewis is the best Lewis that I’ve seen in the last four years — both on and off the track,” said Austrian Wolff. “He’s become a pillar of this team and he proved that in Melbourne.
“Still, you need to be careful to manage your own expectations.
“If you think you are going to cruise to victory in the future, based on a track record of success, you’ll be proven wrong very quickly. You need to put the finger in the wound, identify your weaknesses and then respond.”
Hamilton, who relaxed by scuba diving this week, has won four times in China but the triple world champion will be mindful of his sluggish start to the 2016 campaign.
Former teammate Nico Rosberg reeled off four straight victories before Hamilton finally hit his stride in Monaco in the sixth race of the year.
Rosberg’s hot start helped the German edge the Briton for the world title before sensationally walking away from the sport.
Valtteri Bottas replaced Rosberg and the Finnish driver took third in Australia in his debut for the Silver Arrows.
But Ferrari has shown impressive early form, with Kimi Raikkonen taking fourth and all the signs point to another tight battle between the two top teams in Shanghai.
Vettel, who romped to four successive world titles with Red Bull from 2010-13, will be out to prove his Melbourne win was no fluke.
No illusions
Wolff is under no illusions about the threat posed by Ferrari.
“There are still many areas where we can be better,” he said.
“It’s not a case of looking at the competition for inspiration, but of getting our own homework done to maximize our performance.”
Bottas, meanwhile, tweeted photos of himself running bare-chested along a beach in Bali to prepare for this week.
He’s hoping to make a splash in Shanghai, although the smart money will be on Vettel and Hamilton.
It’s also clear from the early skirmishes that Red Bull has lost some of its spark as young Dutch driver Max Verstappen took fifth while teammate Daniel Ricciardo endured a nightmarish weekend.
The Aussie spun into a wall in qualifying and ground to a halt on lap 29, dealing a blow to Red Bull, which was expected to challenge Mercedes and Ferrari.
Verstappen complained the Red Bulls lacked power, grip and downforce, and team mechanics have been focused on solving the car’s balance issues before the weekend.
But if Ferrari’s victory in Australia gave Formula One fans cause for optimism after three years of crushing Mercedes dominance, the wider cars and fatter tires of 2017 appear to have made overtaking harder.
Hamilton grumbled about being unable to pass Verstappen despite having fresher tires and was by no means alone in expressing concerns about the increased dirty air caused by the new aerodynamics.
The Shanghai circuit should provide a more accurate guide than Melbourne’s street circuit, while Mercedes will hope a fourth straight victory in China heralds the resumption of normal service.