Mercedes-AMG Petronas motorsport boss Toto Wolff thinks that Formula 1’s midfield teams have the potential to “surprise” this year, given how strong certain underdogs have looked during pre-season testing in Barcelona.
When asked who else he expects could challenge the likes of Ferrari for the podium, Wolff replied by saying: “I see everybody. There could be Red Bull for sure. It has the resource to be competitive, and it has always been a flexible team to adapt to new regulations, and even change directions.”
“Ferrari has just got stronger and stronger and stronger. Then Renault was the quickest team on the last few days. Toro Rosso was unbelievable, Alfa Romeo was very good. So all of them; there could be a situation where we are all very close together and there could be surprises.”
Meanwhile, Autosport reports that even Lewis Hamilton is a little weary about the advantage the top three teams have had over the rest of the field in previous seasons no longer being there:
“I think at the moment you can’t rule out anybody. There are at least six drivers at the moment that can have the potential performance wise to fight. We just have to watch the development.”
He goes on to say that he hopes at least Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull can compete with each other, and “maybe Renault can come along, who knows?”
Unfortunately, we hear this type of chatter pretty much every year, and when the time comes to put down fast laps during qualifying, the midfield continues to disappoint. Then again, perhaps 2019’s new regulations will help mix things up, so fingers crossed.