Wolff dissatisfied: “We are not ready, Red Bull and McLaren faster”

On the track Pre-season testing began today on the Sakhir circuit, where the first lap times were seen by all the drivers, with the very first impressions. Surprisingly, Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff, head of the team still considered the favorite on the eve of this championship, expressed negative feelings. The teams further ahead Interviewed by Sky Sport in the early Italian afternoon, the Austrian manager in fact expressed his dissatisfaction after the first hours of the day: “In Barcelona it was actually a shakedown, nothing more, nothing less – he declared – we came out of it recharged, but we didn’t see Max (Verstappen) and the Red Bull doing fast laps. Today they have a more complete engine and a faster car, like the McLaren. It all starts today. We don’t feel ready, we’re not satisfied with the setup, with the degradation of the tires and energy management. The package doesn’t seem as good as in Barcelona.” Engine ‘case’ Wolff also focused on the ‘case’ of the Mercedes engine, defending the regularity of the latter and once again rejecting the attacks of rival teams, as well as launching a dig at the FIA: “We have developed the engine, and things can change quickly. I’m a bit amazed, but it’s how Formula 1 works, it’s the teams and other engine engineers who think we have a great advantage for the things we’ve done and they lobby politically. There are many things that they discuss each other, as always.”