Mercedes on red alert as Wolff backs Hamilton in Shanghai

SHANGHAI - Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has backed Lewis Hamilton to exact swift revenge at Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix after a chastening loss in Formula One's season opener in Australia.

Sebastian Vettel's triumph for Ferrari put Mercedes on red alert ahead of the Shanghai race weekend, but Wolff insists Hamilton has what it takes to strike back after finishing second in Melbourne.

"Lewis is the best Lewis that I've seen in the last four years - both on and off the track," said Austrian Wolff. "He's become a pillar of this team and he proved that in Melbourne.

"Still, you need to be careful to manage your own expectations.

"If you think you are going to cruise to victory in the future, based on a track record of success, you'll be proven wrong very quickly. You need to put the finger in the wound, identify your weaknesses and then respond."

Hamilton, who relaxed by scuba diving this week, has won four times in China but the triple world champion will be mindful of his sluggish start to the 2016 campaign.

Former teammate Nico Rosberg reeled off four straight victories before Hamilton finally hit his stride in Monaco in the sixth race of the year.

Rosberg's hot start helped the German edge the Briton for the world title before sensationally walking away from the sport.

Valtteri Bottas replaced Rosberg and the Finnish driver took third in Australia in his debut for the Silver Arrows.

But Ferrari has shown impressive early form, with Kimi Raikkonen taking fourth and all the signs point to another tight battle between the two top teams in Shanghai.

Vettel, who romped to four successive world titles with Red Bull from 2010-13, will be out to prove his Melbourne win was no fluke.

No illusions

Wolff is under no illusions about the threat posed by Ferrari.

"There are still many areas where we can be better," he said.

"It's not a case of looking at the competition for inspiration, but of getting our own homework done to maximize our performance."

Bottas, meanwhile, tweeted photos of himself running bare-chested along a beach in Bali to prepare for this week.

He's hoping to make a splash in Shanghai, although the smart money will be on Vettel and Hamilton.

It's also clear from the early skirmishes that Red Bull has lost some of its spark as young Dutch driver Max Verstappen took fifth while teammate Daniel Ricciardo endured a nightmarish weekend.

The Aussie spun into a wall in qualifying and ground to a halt on lap 29, dealing a blow to Red Bull, which was expected to challenge Mercedes and Ferrari.

Verstappen complained the Red Bulls lacked power, grip and downforce, and team mechanics have been focused on solving the car's balance issues before the weekend.

But if Ferrari's victory in Australia gave Formula One fans cause for optimism after three years of crushing Mercedes dominance, the wider cars and fatter tires of 2017 appear to have made overtaking harder.

Hamilton grumbled about being unable to pass Verstappen despite having fresher tires and was by no means alone in expressing concerns about the increased dirty air caused by the new aerodynamics.

The Shanghai circuit should provide a more accurate guide than Melbourne's street circuit, while Mercedes will hope a fourth straight victory in China heralds the resumption of normal service.

Agence France-Presse

Capsule look at the Chinese Grand Prix

Lap distance: 5.451km.

Total distance: 307.574km (58 laps).

Race lap record: One minute, 32.238 seconds. Michael Schumacher (Germany) Ferrari, 2004.

2016 pole: Nico Rosberg (Germany) Mercedes 1:35.402

2016 winner: Rosberg

Wins

Sebastian Vettel's victory for Ferrari in the Australian season-opener was the Italian team's first since 2015.

Champion Mercedes has won 51 of 60 races since the introduction of the 1.6 liter V6 turbo hybrid power units in 2014.

Red Bull, with Australian Daniel Ricciardo and Dutch teenager Max Verstappen, was the only non-Mercedes winner last season.

Triple world champion Lewis Hamilton has 53 career victories, putting him second on the all-time list behind Michael Schumacher (91). Vettel has 43, McLaren's Fernando Alonso is on 32 and Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen 20.

Ferrari has won 225 races, McLaren 182, Williams 114, Mercedes 64 and Red Bull 52. McLaren and Williams have not won a race since 2012.

Ferrari

Ferrari last won the opening race of the season in 2010, in Bahrain with Fernando Alonso, and last led the championship in 2012.

The Italian team last won the first two races of a championship in 2004, with Schumacher driving.

Pole position

Hamilton now has 62 career poles after taking the top slot in Australia. He is three short of the late Ayrton Senna's career total and six behind Schumacher's record 68.

Mercedes has been on pole in 57 of the last 60 races.

Podium

Hamilton's second place in Melbourne was his 105th podium finish. One more and the Briton will tie Alain Prost for second spot on the all-time list.

Schumacher has a record 155.

China

The race made its debut on the calendar in 2004 and eight of the 13 Chinese Grands Prix have been won from the pole position.

Hamilton is the most successful, with four wins (2008, 2011, 2014, 2015), and is the only driver to win two years in a row, while Alonso has two victories (2005, 2013). Vettel and teammate Kimi Raikkonen have both won once.

Ferrari and Mercedes have won four times, McLaren three. Alonso is the only driver on the grid to have finished every race in China.

The circuit saw Red Bull's first F1 win in 2009.

Last year's race saw more overtaking than any other, according to Pirelli statistics, with 128 moves. Hamilton alone made 18 of them after starting on the back row.

There were no retirements in last year's race.

Milestone

Mercedes is making its 150th start as a constructor and is gunning for its 75th pole position.

Vettel is the first non-Mercedes driver to lead the championship in the V6 turbo hybrid era (since 2014).

Reuters

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain (left) chats with Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel of Germany at the post-race media conference after the Australian Grand Prix on March 26. Reuters