Mercedes expect three-way fight with Ferrari and Red Bull

Toto Wolff says world champions Mercedes are expecting a three-way scrap for Formula 1 glory with Ferrari and Red Bull in 2018. The Silver Arrows held off the Scuderia to seal a fourth title on the spin last year, but Red Bull are expected to bring a renewed challenge.

Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo were left playing catch-up in 2017 as Red Bull struggled with their Renault engine.

But they each showed impressive pace in pre-season testing at Barcelona and will be expected to get involved in the fight at the front from the off in Australia this week.

Mercedes have dominated since hybrid engines were introduced in 2014, but Wolff says the team could face their sternest challenge yet in the coming year.

"We're excited to go racing again," Wolff said. "Everything we've done over the past months were just the first steps on the road to start our 2018 campaign - from the first build of the car to the first fire-up, from the launch in Silverstone to testing in Barcelona.

"Now, it's time to find out what we've got: like the old saying goes, when the flag drops, the bulls**t stops.

"Last year, the competition was very close and there was no moment where we could afford to relax.

"Ferrari put up a very tough fight and we had a proper battle between silver and red. This year promises to bring an exciting three-way fight between us, Ferrari and Red Bull.

"Everyone in Brackley and Brixworth has worked extremely hard over the past months to make sure we enter that fight with the best machine possible."

Neither Lewis Hamilton or Valtteri Bottas set particularly quick times in Barcelona, while Sebastian Vettel, Kimi Raikkonen and Daniel Ricciardo all set never-before-seen lap times - as did Fernando Alonso in the much-maligned McLaren.

But Wolff spoke with calm about the new car's performances.

"Both our drivers seem reasonably happy with our new car," he said. "But it remains yet to be seen how well it performs when driven in anger.

"The reduction in the number of power unit components means that reliability will again play an important role in 2018.

"Our reliability in testing looked good but we need to be careful to draw any conclusions from that - despite getting some good mileage with the new car in Barcelona, many of its components have not even come close to the life they need to complete during the season."