Mercedes to 'take a chainsaw' to W13 for Saudi Arabia

Toto Wolff has suggested Mercedes will "take a chainsaw" to its W13 for Sunday's Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in a bid to rectify the car's issues.

Lewis Hamilton and George Russell finished third and fourth for Mercedes in the season-opening F1 race after both were promoted through the late retirements of Red Bull drivers Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez.

Throughout the weekend, Mercedes struggled for straight-line pace in Bahrain, with neither driver inside the top 14 through the speed trap in qualifying.

With the Jeddah race taking place on the fastest street track on the calendar, Mercedes team principal Wolff is aware action must be taken quickly.

"It's easier to shed drag off the car because you simply take a chainsaw and cut the rear wing to bits and so that is what we will be doing for Jeddah," said Wolff. Speaking to Sky Sports F1, Wolff explained what Mercedes believed to be the cause of its pace problem while conceding the manufacturer may need to look again at its latest power unit.

"I think we were probably over-winged," he added. "We had too much drag and that is just because we are lacking parts at the moment and hopefully we can remedy that.

"It is half or a little bit more maybe of the top speed advantage but we need to really leave no stone unturned on the power unit side."

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