Brawn: Mercedes haven't forgotten how to win

Former Mercedes boss and current Formula 1 motorsport director Ross Brawn says the Silver Arrows do not need to take "drastic" action in order to seal a first win of the 2018 season. The constructors' champions' dominance has been challenged like never before in the hybrid era, with Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas unable to win in the opening three races of the season.

Hamilton perhaps ought to have won in Australia, only for a software "bug" to allow Sebastian Vettel to steal it under the Virtual Safety Car.

As the drivers' champion has dropped in form, Bottas has also seen potential victories slip through his grasp - failing to make a last-lap move on Vettel stick in Bahrain, before his expert undercut of the Ferrari star in China was undone by a safety car, which allowed a soft-shod Daniel Ricciardo to storm to victory.

Brawn - Mercedes team principal between 2010 and 2013 - highlighted the team's previous dominance over F1 as proof that they remain firmly in the hunt for honours this year.

"For the first time since F1 has used the V6 hybrid power unit, the three-pointed star has failed to win for three races in a row," he said.

"It's the first time over the same period that it has failed to win in Shanghai, having previously finished on the top step of the podium three times with Hamilton and once with [Nico] Rosberg.

"Their run of consecutive poles is even longer at this track, dating back to 2012.

"What's happening to the dominant force in the current F1 era?

"In all three races so far this season, they've been in with a chance of winning – remember Bottas was leading [in China] – but they've failed every time.

"The opposition is stronger and they have increased in number and seem to have drastically closed down the technical edge that Mercedes has held for the past four years.

"What can they do to turn things around? Drastic action is not needed, they need to remain composed and fix all the small issues that accumulate and contribute to losing races.

"They are the same team that have been so dominant and they haven't forgotten what to do."