Wolff: 'We haven't seen Red Bull Racing's car perform yet!'

©WRI2

While understating his own team's performance last week in Barcelona, Toto Wolff is guarded about the potential shown by Mercedes' rivals.

The German outfit topped the time sheets after the first round of pre-season testing, with a W08 car which appeared clearly optimized for F1's new set of rules.

As usual however, Wolff played down the team's performance when asked by the sport's official website, Formula1.com, if he was satisfied with what he saw.

"As much as you can be satisfied after four days of testing!

"There is an early indication that we are looking okay," he added, "but it is no more and no less."

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Wolff also suggested that Red Bull Racing was perhaps playing its cards close to its chest last week, with the full potential of its RB13 yet to be unleashed.

Red Bull's design guru Adrian Newey suggested that a close look at the Mercedes revealed to his eye a complicated car, an assessment Wolff qualified as irrelevant.

"We are on very different philosophies," the Mercedes boss responded.

"Fundamentally it is all about extracting the maximum performance of the car, and whether this is through sophisticated work or a more simplistic approach is, at the end of the day, irrelevant.

"What counts is the performance of the car," he adds.

"I have no doubt that whatever car Adrian and his team bring to the track will be a tough competitor to beat. My guess is that we haven't seen the Red Bull Racing car of 2017 yet."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.