F1 news: Toto Wolff makes worrying Lewis Hamilton prediction ahead of Bahrain Grand Prix

Hamilton lost the season-opening Australian Grand Prix as Sebastian Vettel took advantage of a Virtual Safety Car to claim maximum points.

The Brit and his Ferrari rival are both hoping to win their fifth career world championship this term.

And judging by the start of the campaign it is going to be a very fierce battle that will probably go all the way down to the wire.

The two drivers are split by barely anything and Wolff is worried that the German could reign victorious again in the desert.

“We expect Bahrain to be another challenging weekend, although the challenges will be of a completely different nature,” Wolff told Motorsport.com.

“The race in the desert is tricky because the conditions change drastically between sessions.

“FP1 and FP3 take place in the heat of the day whereas qualifying and the race itself take place after sunset so it’s much cooler.

“That makes it extremely difficult to find the right set-up with the car.

“Bahrain is also a power-sensitive race with the long straights.

“We saw in Melbourne that the Ferraris in particular were very quick, so I expect it to be a close battle.”