Toto Wolff hits out at Ferrari: “I thought they would cover us at the pit stop” | Australian GP. Toto Wolff praises Mercedes’ double victory at the Australian GP .

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff celebrates the one-two finish but admits that winning over Ferrari was more challenging than expected. The Austrian is surprised that Maranello didn’t follow Mercedes’ strategy with at least one car. Regarding the spectacle, he believes the season started well and that even more excitement could come in China.

During the race, Mercedes confirmed the W17’s superiority seen in qualifying, securing a one-two finish at the Australian Grand Prix, despite a tricky start that allowed Ferrari to take the lead. Wolff enjoys Mercedes’ 136th victory, smiling as he reflects not only on an excellent start to the season but also on a Formula 1 championship that kicked off the new era with an entertaining race.

However, the Brackley team principal does not want to overstate the significance of the one-two finish, keeping his analysis very measured. We’ve confirmed that anyone who said this F1 would be unexciting was completely wrong. Before the start, we thought winning might be a bit easier than it actually was. Ferrari had an excellent start, and the strategy we implemented may have made the difference for us: we exploited the pit stop window, because there wasn’t much difference, Wolff said.

Were you expecting Ferrari to cover you with at least one car?
Yes, I’m surprised they didn’t, especially since there was time to make a decision. But the right choice can always be debated after the race, because while on track the situation wasn’t 100% clear.

Mercedes showed the competitiveness seen in qualifying…
Not at all. I think in clean air you can simply have a better pace than others. This means that when you’re fighting wheel-to-wheel, there isn’t much you can do to change the situation, and in the end, it showed. Ferrari had slightly fresher tires, and in terms of pace they were right there. But yes, I can say I’m surprised at how close they actually were.

Did you expect Ferrari’s rapid start?
Yes, it was predictable. We knew they were well-prepared for the starts, and even with energy management they looked strong both defending and attacking. At the beginning, there was no way to challenge Charles.

How do you judge the first GP of the new era?
We were all curious to see how it would go, especially at the start, waiting to understand what would happen. And aside from a complicated initial launch, it all seemed to go well. Also, the race didn’t show huge differences compared to previous years, even though Melbourne is one of the tracks demanding the highest energy expenditure. So we started on one of the most challenging circuits for the spectacle, but the race went well. We’ll see how Shanghai turns out: we simply hope to do even better, to deliver an exciting show there as well.

Toto Wolff’s “jab” at Ferrari’s strategy highlights a growing confidence within the Mercedes camp, yet his admission of surprise regarding the Scuderia’s pace suggests a respect for the threat from Maranello. As the 2026 season shifts to China, the tactical chess match between Toto Wolff and Fred Vasseur is already becoming the primary subplot of this championship, with Mercedes proving they have the execution, but Ferrari proving they have the raw power to keep them honest.