Mercedes Strategises for Chinese Grand Prix

Toto Wolff says Ferrari’s win in the Malaysian Grand Prix has acted as a ‘wake-up call’ that will force Mercedes it to raise its game further when F1 heads to Shanghai for the Chinese Grand Prix.

Following Mercedes’ defeat to Ferrari at the hands of Sebastian Vettel in Sepang, Mercedes says it has looked carefully at how it could have performed better in Malaysia and is eager to avoid a similar result going forward.

Indeed, though Wolff agrees the result was a positive one for the sport as a whole, he says it has merely inspired the German marque to come out fighting for round three in China.

“We left Malaysia with plenty to think about,” he said. “It may have been a good result for the sport – but for us, it was a wake-up call. This is something you cannot afford to happen often and, although we had two cars on the podium, we have been looking very carefully at every area where we could have performed better.

“Our opposition has raised its game and we must now raise ours even further; as we have said since Melbourne, we expect a season-long battle for both World Championships and we must maximise every opportunity.”