Mercedes-Ferrari battle 'marvellous advertisement' for F1 - Wolff

Mercedes chief Toto Wolff says the 2018 Formula 1 season has been "a marvellous advertisement for the sport" as the Silver Arrows are locked in a battle for supremacy with Ferrari that has seen Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel take turns leading the drivers' championship.

Hamilton has a 24-point lead over the summer break, after back-to-back wins in Germany and Hungary - Vettel losing out on likely victories in wet conditions each time.

As both vie for a fifth world title, Hamilton's current advantage is the widest margin at the top all season, but Ferrari's power advantage is sure to tighten things up again when the sport returns.

With nothing to choose from between the majority of the remaining teams in the midfield battle, Wolff believes the current campaign is one for the ages.

"The battle at the top is more exciting than ever before, and things are also very tight in the midfield," Wolff said.

"The races have not only produced some great wheel-to-wheel action on the track but also some surprise winners: seven of the twelve races so far were not necessarily won by the fastest car.

"All in all, I would say that the 2018 season has been a marvellous advertisement for the sport.

"For us as a team, the half-term report is a positive one, as we are currently leading both world championships. We owe this to the efforts of our team in Brackley and Brixworth and to the driving skills of Lewis and Valtteri.

"At the same time, though, we also realise that we have dropped points in more than one race, so we are going flat out to boost performance even more for the second half of the season.

"We will be working very hard on that right up to the weekend when the summer break officially begins as decreed by the regulations. It's a break that everyone on our team has more than earned.

"We will then come back refreshed with the necessary energy to raise our game even further in the second half of the season."