Wolff sees opportunities for Mercedes: "There you see how close it is"
F1 News
Toto Wolff is reasonably satisfied with the way Mercedes held its own during qualifying as George Russell qualified fourth for Sunday's race, while Kimi Antonelli, with his damaged W16, got no further than 16th. Still, the Mercedes team boss thinks his team can still fight for a good haul of points.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Wolff acknowledged that he thinks Mercedes can compete with the other top teams, but had to admit that it is going to be incredibly difficult to actually stand a chance of victory. And that, according to the Austrian, has everything to do with McLaren's rock-solid car: "[We are] in the mix but realistically we are two-tenths off the McLaren, that's what you need to admit," he said.
But Wolff knows that everyone at the front of the grid is incredibly close together at the first Grand Prix of the 2025 season: "At the front, you see how close it is. Between Verstappen and the two Ferraris who were not quick this time around, but they are definitely there, there could be six cars that will put up a good fight. I think, race pace, we were all the same apart from maybe the McLaren that was a tiny bit further up. But I don't think this result is where they [Ferrari] really are, they should probably be a bit higher."
Wolff sees the positives for Antonelli after tough qualifying
For Antonelli's first qualifying session in F1, the 18-year-old did not get beyond Q1 on Saturday and will start Sunday's race from P16. However, this does not say much about the young Mercedes driver's talent and potential, considering he was driving around with a damaged car, with Wolff knowing there is plenty that the Italian can learn.
"It's a bit unfortunate for Kimi. He ran wide, not much wider than before, and broke the bib, the front assembly. But at least tomorrow he's going to have an exciting race - good for learning," concluded the Austrian CEO.
This article was created in collaboration with Kim Hoefnagel
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