Toto Wolff said while Mercedes is highly motivated to redress the injustice of Monaco, the Baku track may not be the place to do so.
Mercedes lost control at the top of both World Championship rankings after a disastrous Monaco Grand Prix that resulted in a dreaded DNF for Valtteri Bottas and a rather low P7 place for Lewis Hamilton.
Meanwhile, Max Verstappen galloped to victory in Monte Carlo to overtake Hamilton by four points in the drivers ‘championship, and Sergio Perez’s rock-solid P4 allowed Red Bull to move one point ahead of Mercedes in the constructors’ championship.
Looking back on a rare off-weekend for Mercedes, Wolff said he saw a similar reaction at the factory when the Silver Arrows realized they had some catching up to do after pre-season testing in Bahrain.
And while the reigning world champions are “more anxious than ever to recover”, Wolff fears that Baku could cause more problems for the W12.
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“On weekends like Monaco, you always like to come back,” said Wolff in the Baku preview from Mercedes.
“Nothing is easy in this sport and that’s why we love it. We know if you’re not at or close to 100% it will bite you.
“On Monday morning I saw the same energy as when we returned from the Bahrain Test and I am pleased.
“We dissected over the weekend, asked ourselves tough questions, and learned some important lessons. I wish we could have raced again last weekend.
“Although it’s a completely different street circuit than Monaco, we expect it to be another more difficult one for us that doesn’t particularly suit the characteristics and characteristics of the W12.
“Red Bull will be strong again, while both Ferrari and McLaren have made great strides lately.
“For us it must be a central concern to seize the opportunities that offer us on the runaway stretches that do not suit our car – if the points are there, we have to grab them.
“In this fight it will swing back and forth, what is exciting for the sport and exciting for us.
“We expect another challenge on the city streets and after the results of the last race we are more determined and excited than ever to get back on our feet in Baku.”
It remains to be seen whether Wolff’s fears are real or whether this is another attempt to play mind games with Red Bull …
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