F1: Mercedes, Ferrari Battle Makes 2018 Outcome Tough To Predict, Wolff Says

Formula 1 action is set to return this week after a mandatory three and a half week summer break at the iconic Spa Francorchamps circuit in Belgium and it is still all to play for in both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ championship.

Lewis Hamilton leads the Drivers’ championship by 24 points from title rival Sebastian Vettel, while his team Mercedes lead Ferrari by 10 points in the Constructors’ race.

The championship has swung back and forth between the two teams during the course of the first 12 races of the 2018 season and Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is certain it will go down to the final race in Abu Dhabi in November.

In the last four seasons, it was quite easy to predict the favorites going into a race owing to Mercedes’ dominance over the rest of the grid, but after Ferrari and Red Bull’s emergence as genuine contenders in 2018, the end result at certain tracks has been surprising to say the least.

Ferrari have won on tracks that were supposed to suit the Mercedes better, while the opposite has occurred on tracks that favored the Italian team. The Spa Francorchamps circuit is a combination of long straights, fast corners and multiple elevation changes and the Wolff admitted it is impossible to make a prediction prior to the race weekend.

Mercedes are aware of the challenge that Ferrari pose – with most of the grid now unanimously in agreement that the latter likely have the best package on the grid. But despite that the Silver Arrows team are leading both the championships, and that indicates that speed alone does not win you races.

Ferrari’s struggles have been linked to certain questionable strategy calls early on in the season, and one major error from Vettel, who crashed out of the German Grand Prix while comfortably in the lead. This makes the season more unpredictable and the Mercedes chief admits they have to work as hard as ever to maintain their advantage at the front.

"It's very difficult to make any predictions for Spa," Wolff told Mercedes’ official site ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix this weekend. "If this season has taught us one thing, it's that there are no clear favourites for specific tracks anymore and that it's not always the fastest car that wins.”

"Instead, the competitive balance seems to swing back and forth from circuit to circuit. What is clear is that our competitors are pushing extremely hard and put up a very tough fight. So, we need to keep our heads down, work hard to eliminate our weaknesses and further build on our strengths, and take the season race by race,” he explained.

"2018 promises to be a season that we will still be talking about in years to come and we can't wait to get out there and start racing again."