Mercedes boss Toto Wolff insists that Red Bull are contenders this weekend, despite a quiet winter.

The Austrian team looked like they were lacking pace in pre-seasob but Wolff believes that they were sandbagging.

He told reporters: “What we have seen in testing is that we have done a solid job. The car was quick and reliable but we have seen Ferrari making a step ahead.

"When you look at the GPS data, certainly on one lap the performance is spot on, but that is with the limitation of not knowing what fuel [levels] they were running.

"Then you have the usual suspects. Williams is looking good and you cannot write-off Red Bull, even though they were not really shining in testing."

Mercedes start the season as the overwhelming favourite, with many experts predicting a second championship battle between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.

The new season starts on Sunday morning.


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