Toto Wolff hopes to take another step forward in the good start to the 2026 Formula 1 season. After Mercedes’ one-two finish at the Australian GP, the Austrian executive hopes to carry the momentum into China, but knows it will be a challenge.
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The German team arrives in Shanghai as the team to beat after their dominance in Melbourne. At the championship opener, they confirmed pre-season suspicions where they had shown not only good pace, but a car with good reliability.
Now, for this second round of the 2026 Formula 1 season, which also features the first Sprint of the year, the Mercedes boss pointed out the importance of finding the balance quickly, especially on a weekend with such restricted practice sessions.
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“We faced several challenges in Australia, which was to be expected with such new cars. The team handled them well and overcame them to achieve the result we wanted. We left there with many lessons learned and areas to improve, which we will seek to implement in China,” he said.
“As it is a Sprint weekend with only one hour of free practice, it will be even harder to get the car in good condition before the first competitive session. We saw a close fight at the front with Ferrari last weekend, and with several other teams that haven’t shown their full potential yet, so we know we have a real battle ahead,” he added.
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