Mercedes may have won the opening round of the 2021 Formula 1 World Championship but team boss Toto Wolff is wary of what lies ahead in this weekend’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola, convinced their closest rivals are in fact ahead of his team.
The “Duel in the Desert” as Wolff puts it was by no means the customary canter for the World Champions as they faced up to a highly charged Red Bull team spearheaded by Max Verstappen.
It took the genius of their pitwall to combine with Lewis Hamilton at his very best for them to eke out the victory. It was not their race to win, yet they did. But the signs were ominous a day earlier when Verstappen power to pole by three-tenths of a second over next best in the #44 car.
Thus heading to Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari for the second time in five and a bit months, Wolff is playing things down: “The 2021 F1 season certainly began in spectacular style. It was an encouraging first race, coming away from Bahrain with a double podium, and hopefully, the duel in the desert between us and Red Bull is a sign of what’s to come this year.
“We may have won the first round, but we’re under no illusions that this will be a straightforward season. The car is still lacking pace over a single lap and Red Bull appear to have the edge right now. We’re pushing hard to close the gap, and this is a challenge we relish.
“We’ve been eager to get back on track over this three-week break and round two, the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, is just around the corner. Imola is such a historic and iconic venue.
“It’s a track the drivers really enjoy, with its sweeping nature, high speeds and variety of corner types. It’s quite a narrow track, which makes overtaking more difficult, but this puts more focus on strategy and makes qualifying even more crucial,” explained Wolff.
Last year at Imola, in November, it was Hamilton versus teammate Valtteri Bottas with everyone playing catch up, including Verstappen who was over half a second down on the pole-winning time set by Bottas. On race day, Hamilton reversed the tables winning the race from the Finn. Verstappen had a DNF.
Wolff recalled: “We all enjoyed returning to Imola in 2020, after a 14-year gap, and it was made more special by the fact we secured our seventh Constructors’ championship on that weekend. We’re looking forward to being back there again this weekend and seeing what the 2021 race has in store!”