Toto Wolff stunned by 'unexpected' Mercedes gains

Mercedes Formula 1 boss Toto Wolff has admitted he was left stunned after watching the performance of his drivers at last weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix.

George Russell continued his positive start to the campaign, splitting the McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris to take the chequered flag in second spot.

And while his team-mate Kimi Antonelli finished outside of the points on Sunday, his impressive display in qualifying - where he went fourth fastest - gave Wolff plenty of cause for optimism going forward.

Prior to the weekend, Russell insisted the heat and track conditions in Bahrain would be a true test of Mercedes' progress, and Wolff was thrilled to see the team pass with flying colours.

He told Motorsport.com: "We would have expected that Bahrain would have been one of the very difficult ones for us because of the warm ambient temperature and the very granular, rough circuit.

"We qualified P2 and P4. We had a car that was able to be solidly on the podium, and that is better than we expected.

"You can [only] call a race a success if you win, but in the circumstances one could say it was much better than we expected."

George Russell leads Mercedes charge

Coming into this season, Russell had not been considered a realistic challenger for the world drivers' title, but currently sits fourth place in the standings, just 14 points off leader Norris.

The Brit has stood on the podium three times in four outings, with his worst performance of the campaign coming in Japan, where still managed to finish in the top five.

It was widely expected that this would be a season of transition for the Silver Arrows following the departure of Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari, but rookie Antonelli has so far justified his team's decision to give him an opportunity.

The Italian has looked solid on his four outings to date, and his haul of 30 points has contributed to Mercedes emerging as McLaren's biggest obstacle in their bid to become back-to-back champions.

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