Wolff: ‘We have a fight on our hands with Ferrari’

Mercedes secured a perfect 1-2 finish in Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix, but if you expected Toto Wolff to be popping champagne with reckless abandon, think again.

The Mercedes team boss emerged from the Melbourne season-opener not with a sense of untouchable dominance, but with the grit of a man who knows a heavyweight brawl has likely just begun.

Despite George Russell leading home team-mate Kimi Antonelli at Albert Park, Wolff believes the season opener proved one thing beyond doubt: Ferrari are not going away quietly.

In fact, the Austrian insists the early laps of the race made it clear that Mercedes has a proper battle on its hands and won’t be running away with the 2026 championship.

A Brawl in the Park

On paper, Mercedes looked untouchable heading into the race. Russell and Antonelli had locked out the front row in qualifying, and pre-race simulations suggested the Silver Arrows had the edge on long-run pace.

But when the lights went out, Ferrari immediately flipped the script.

Charles Leclerc launched from fourth on the grid to seize the lead, triggering an intense early duel with Russell while Lewis Hamilton climbed into the mix after Antonelli’s troubled start.

For Wolff, those opening laps were a reality check.

“When it comes to Ferrari before the race people were saying, ‘Well, you'll disappear in the distance, looking at your long runs.’ And that wasn't the case,” he noted.

"We knew that they were strong on the starts, and that's what happened. It was a out and out battle between Charles and George at the beginning."

Antonelli’s slow getaway – later linked to low battery deployment – only added to the early drama.

“Kimi was a bit unlucky that the battery wasn't on the level that it should have been [at the start], on either car actually to a certain degree,” Wolff said.

"And it was a three-way fight at a certain stage, with the two Ferraris, and George. And eventually Kimi caught up. So for me, the prevailing feeling is now we have fight on our hands with Ferrari.”

Close Racing Under the New Rules

The race itself also provided an early glimpse of how Formula 1’s new regulations might shape the on-track battles this season.

With energy deployment and overtaking modes playing a crucial role, drivers repeatedly surged forward or dropped back depending on how they managed their systems.

Wolff believes the new rules make it extremely difficult for even the faster car to escape once a battle begins.

“I think how the regs are at the moment is that in a close fight, close proximity to other cars, it's very difficult to break free. And therefore performances converge, which makes for good, exciting [racing] if it was really to continue like this.”

But once a driver finally breaks free of the pack, the underlying pace advantage becomes clear.

“And once you have a free air, then the pace shows. Both components are part of a great race. And I think the race pace at the end was very encouraging from our side.

"But at the beginning, there was nothing between Ferrari and Mercedes.”

Mercedes Relishing Its Return to the Front

Beyond the race itself, Wolff also reflected on what the victory meant for Mercedes after several challenging seasons.

The team dominated Formula 1 for nearly a decade, winning eight consecutive constructors’ championships before enduring a turbulent spell under the previous rule set.

For Wolff, returning to the front now feels even sweeter.

“Most importantly, there's so much contentment that I feel in the team at the moment. We had such a winning streak with these eight championships, and then very difficult years,” he insisted.

“We will still won races and finished second in the championship, but a solid one and two where you feel a season ahead that means you can fight for a world championship – that wasn't [the case] for a long time.”

“And then therefore you're probably more grateful when you bounce back like this, having known the difficult years, than you're just rather continuing. And that's why I'm just very happy for everyone.”

• Read also: Russell had ‘nothing in the tank’ to counter Leclerc off the line

Still, Wolff knows the road ahead will not be easy. Even after a dominant result in Melbourne, the Mercedes boss is already looking over his shoulder.

“The worry that we had was that it wasn't exciting in terms of the fighting. And the boost and the overtake modes made it actually quite interesting to watch on a track that is particularly difficult for energy,” Wolff concluded.

"So we'll see how that goes in Shanghai.”

If the Australian Grand Prix was any indication, the 2026 season may already have its defining rivalry: Mercedes versus Ferrari – and Wolff expects a full-blown fight.

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