Wolff Welcomes Ferrari And Red Bull Challenge, Predicts 'Legendary' 2018 F1 Season

Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team’s CEO Toto Wolff is predicting the 2018 Formula 1 season to be ‘legendary’ with three teams — Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull Racing — that are evenly matched battling for race wins.

Surprisingly, it is the Silver Arrows team — the reigning Constructors’ and Drivers’ champions for the last four years — who are yet to win a race this season. Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel won the first two races of the season in Australia and Bahrain with Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo winning the third race in China on April 15.

It is the first time since the beginning of the V6 Turbo era in 2014 that three teams are competing for the title. It was not until the 2017 season that Mercedes were challenged by another team for race wins on a regular basis.

"The 2018 Formula One season is set to be a celebration of everything we love about motor racing," Wolff said, as quoted on Mercedes F1’s official site. "Three teams are fighting fiercely for race wins.”

“So far, this year has all the ingredients for one of those legendary F1 seasons — a season that fans will look back on with smiles on their faces in years to come. And it's not just the fans at home or at the race track who are excited — we feel the same. And we know that we have a massive challenge on our hands,” he said. "Last year, we were in a tough fight with Ferrari. However, it was nothing compared to the intensity of this year's battle."

The F1 juggernaut will head to the Baku street circuit in Azerbaijan for the fourth race of the season Sunday. In the years gone by, the result was easy to predict owing to Mercedes’ utter dominance.

Ferrari and Red Bull used to be competing for the tag of best of the rest, but in 2018, the Baku race will be unpredictable with all three teams matched evenly in terms of raw pace. The cars that can find the optimum setup and the team that can think on its feet and find the best strategy during the race will triumph on Sunday.

However, with it being a street circuit, the number of possibilities are indefinite, as one mistimed safety car can change the final outcome. And Mercedes team principal, Wolff, is looking forward to the race and is confident that everyone in the team is ready to fight the challenge posed by their two big rivals Ferrari and Red Bull Racing.

“Both Red Bull and Ferrari will do everything they can to beat us. Their cars, their teams, their drivers — all of them operate at a high level and will continue to put us under pressure,” he said. "Not everyone likes this kind of challenge — but we love it. Each member of our team joined this sport for these moments."

“We're going into the race weekend in Baku feeling excited about that unpredictability. It will be the first time the Azerbaijan Grand Prix takes place in April, with completely different conditions to the previous years when we went to the Caspian Sea in June,” the Mercedes chief added.