Berlin, Germany - Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff believes his team has reason to be confident going into the Formula One season but is anxious to dampen premature euphoria.
“We have had a good test in Bahrain last week but that is no reason to celebrate. We can be cautiously optimistic,” he said ahead of the third and final pre-season test.
That test will also be in Bahrain and after the two completed tests so far, Mercedes has driven further than any other team.
World champion Red Bull on the other hand has struggled badly with technical problems.
But Wolff said: “There have been many training world champions already. The point is that we can convert this on the Sunday of the first race in Melbourne.”
Wolff pointed out that after longer runs on the track the Mercedes car also stopped repeatedly.
The final four-day test in Bahrain will begin on Thursday; the opening Grand Prix of the season in Melbourne will be on 16 March.
Sapa-dpa