Toto Wolff, Mercedes’ new shareholder and director, has played down claims the Silver Arrows is a definite title contender for 2013.<\/p>\n
The Brackley based team had played down its chances until the last two days of pre-season testing, when Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg stunned the paddock with the pace of the new W04.<\/p>\n
“Mercedes looks very strong,” Ferrari technical director Pat Fry is quoted by Speed Week.<\/p>\n
But Austrian Wolff said of the raised expectations: “I have to dampen them because they are quite simply not realistic.”<\/p>\n
He said winter testing is not a good form guide, particularly if some teams are deliberately hiding their performance.<\/p>\n
“Red Bull for example showed nothing,” said Wolff.\u00a0 “We won’t know until Melbourne what’s really going on,” he told the German news agency DPA.<\/p>\n
Team newcomer Hamilton, meanwhile, also seemed initially excited by the late-Barcelona test pace, admitting he now expects to win a race.<\/p>\n
But Spain’s El Confidential quotes him as saying: “There’s no reason to be impressed.\u00a0 People should not get excited.<\/p>\n
“It’s important for everyone to have their feet on the ground.”<\/p>\n
Teammate Rosberg, in contrast, has sounded upbeat throughout the winter, openly admitting the W04 is much better than its 2012 predecessor.<\/p>\n
But the real question is how it will stack up against the competition.<\/p>\n
“Amongst others, the big unknown is Red Bull,” the German is quoted as saying.<\/p>\n
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