Toto Wolff believes Lewis Hamilton could threaten Mercedes’ winning streak should he surge into the lead at the start of the Barcelona Grand Prix.

Hamilton will line up second in the middle of a Mercedes sandwich, with George Russell on pole position and Kimi Antonelli third on the grid.

Toto Wolff wary of Lewis Hamilton threat in Barcelona

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Mercedes extended its run of Grand Prix pole positions at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Saturday, where Russell beat Hamilton by just 0.064s to secure his first pole position since Australia.

His teammate Antonelli’s pole position streak ended as the Italian could only manage the third-fastest time, three-tenths down on his teammate.

But as the adage goes, points aren’t awarded on the Saturday; it’s all about Sunday’s Grand Prix.

And for that, Wolff admits he’s wary of the threat that Hamilton poses given Ferrari’s epic launches off the line.

“My old friend,” the Mercedes team principal told Sky Sports F1, “when people doubted whether he still had the speed, I’ve always said if he’s in the right frame of mind and the car suits him, then he is to be reckoned with

“You need to count him in, and that’s what he did. If there isn’t a tiny mistake at the end, he is a tenth-and-a-half quicker than us.

“I think it’s going to play out in tyre degradation and we were quite good in the long run yesterday [Friday practice] – but it all depends on the start.

“If Lewis is ahead after the start, that’s going to be a tough one for everyone, so I’m really curious to see how that pans out.”

More from qualifying at the Barcelona Grand Prix

George Russell ends Kimi Antonelli’s pole streak with Barcelona P1

F1 starting grid: Russell on pole as Barcelona GP grid order forms

Hamilton, who has yet to win a Grand Prix in Ferrari colours, says he has no intention of holding back on Sunday.

Although he concedes Mercedes has better pace at this stage of the championship, the Briton was full of praise for Ferrari’s efforts to close the gap.

Ferrari arrived in Spain with eight upgrades for the SF-26 in what was the team’s second big update package in the championship.

“I mean, it’s the closest I’ve been to the front in quali, right?” he told PlanetF1.com and other media after qualifying. “So, I’ll give it a go.

“You know, still what’s clear is what we’re doing is working, we’re improving as a team. I think clearly, I mean, these guys just seem to have extra in the pocket.

“Every time we bring an upgrade, they’re still ahead, so we’ve got some work ahead of us to… I don’t know when they’re going to bring something else again, maybe the next race or whatever. It’s going to be swapping and changing, but it’s great for us, this is the closest we’ve been pace-wise, I think, in quali.

“I’m so grateful to the guys back in the team. I’ve seen how focused and how hard everyone’s working, and everyone’s just quiet and goes about their business and is just so passionate. But I really want them to know how thankful I am, because it felt great out there to put a lap together and see that we’re that close, this early.

“We’re still early in the season, you know, so the fight is on.”

He added to Sky: “There’s a lot of work to do to get ahead of these guys [Mercedes]. It will take a perfect job from all of us to fight these guys for a win.

“Tyre management will be crucial. It always is here, particularly when the track is 50 degrees. On Friday we were just sliding around, the most I’ve ever felt here. And degradation was double what we anticipated.

“But the car is in a better place and I hope it means we have less degradation. I’m battling two Mercedes which will be harder on strategy.

“It’s a long way down to Turn One so we need a good start. Of all starts that’s the one you need to get right, so we can get the car where it needs to be.”

Hamilton heads into Sunday’s race second in the Drivers’ Championship, 66 points down on Antonelli and two ahead of Russell.

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