Mercedes driven by Monaco "bite" - Toto Wolff

Mercedes

Mercedes driven by Monaco "bite" - Wolff

Red Bull had the upper hand after pre-season testing also

Sam Hall

Thursday 3 June 2021 10:39

Toto Wolff has revealed that Mercedes head into this weekend's Azerbaijan Grand Prix driven by the team's rare failure last time out in Monaco.

It is a similar situation after the pre-season test in Bahrain when Mercedes was on the back foot and Red Bull appeared to have the fastest car on the grid.

Heading to Azerbaijan, Mercedes again finds itself positioned as the hunters rather than the hunted with Max Verstappen and Red Bull capitalising on a difficult weekend for the team to take the lead in both the drivers' and constructors' championships.

It is the first time since the German Grand Prix in 2018 Mercedes has not topped both tables.

"Weekends like Monaco are the ones that keep you coming back for more," said Wolff.

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"Nothing comes easy in this sport, and that's why we love it. We know that if you are not at, or close to, 100 per cent then it will bite you. "On Monday morning I saw the same energy as when we returned from the Bahrain test and that pleases me.

"We dissected the weekend, asked hard questions of ourselves, and learned some crucial lessons. I wish we could have been back racing last weekend."

Mercedes determined to bounce back

After footage emerged of Verstappen's rear wing flexing during the Spanish Grand Prix, the FIA issued a technical directive detailing more stringent load tests that would be introduced to prevent any illegal movement.

These tests, however, are not scheduled to be introduced before this weekend's race and Wolff has made clear he will not be afraid to launch a protest if Red Bull uses the wing again.

He added: "There will be swings back and forth in this fight which is exciting for the sport and exciting for us.

"We're expecting another challenge on the city streets and after the results of the last race, we're more determined and fired-up than ever to bounce back in Baku."