Ferrari fight is 'biggest challenge' in Mercedes' recent history

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff believes that the current "monumental" title fight between the Silver Arrows and Ferrari is Mercedes' "biggest challenge" in their recent history as the two teams scrap for prominence at the top of the Formula One constructor rankings.

The 2018 F1 season has seen Mercedes and Ferrari swap first and second positions more than once, with Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel also feuding over the driver's championship.

Wolff is proud of the team's achievement at the Italian Grand Prix which they won through Hamilton, but when previewing the upcoming Singapore GP he confessed that he now finds predictions "meaningless" due to the topsy-turvy nature of the 2018 season.

“The result in Italy was a great reward for everyone in the team who has been working tirelessly to improve our performance,” Wolff said.

“We knew that the race in Monza would be another big challenge for us, after the defeat in Spa, but we managed to prevail through a combination of individual skill and fantastic teamwork. However, we also know that we've been strong at Monza in recent years and the track characteristics make the Italian Grand Prix a bit of an outlier.

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"Singapore, on the other hand, has features that we've struggled with in the past. The short straights, the slow, tight corners and the bumpy surface all make the Marina Bay Street Circuit one of the trickiest tracks of the season for us.

“In 2015, we endured one of our most painful experiences in recent years there. Last year, we started the race from the third row - and came home with a win and a third place.

“On paper, the track should favour the Ferraris, but the championship fight is so close that predictions are almost meaningless."

With Mercedes and Ferrari battling fiercely for the championship, Wolff has hailed the title race as one of the biggest challenges in his team's history.

“I'm simply amazed by the energy in Brackley and Brixworth at the moment. Each team member knows that we're facing the biggest challenge in our recent history,” he continued.

“But every man and woman in the team is willing to push themselves to the limit. We will be fighting with everything we've got for these two championships."