Toto Wolff: The Chinese Grand Prix is important for Formula 1

      In comments to the Mercedes press service, team principal Toto Wolff summed up the results of the first race of the season in Melbourne and spoke about the importance of the Chinese Grand Prix for Formula 1.

      Toto Wolff: "We left Australia with a lot of pleasant memories and with a healthy degree of realism about the positions of the team. The W16 has provided riders with a stable platform and is less likely to react to changes in track conditions than its predecessor. At times, the car had a pace that allowed it to fight ahead.

      Obviously, we've made a good step forward over the winter, and now the challenge is to unleash our full potential and get the car to speed up. We welcome this challenge.

      We ran the race well, made the right decisions at the right time, and earned our first podium of the season. George drove the race flawlessly, attacked when necessary, maintained the pace, took advantage of the opportunities and climbed to the podium. A brilliant performance that highlighted his speed, maturity and intelligence.

      As for Kimi, it's hard to imagine a more difficult debut weekend. He started from the wrong position and faced extreme difficulties on a treacherous track. Nevertheless, Kimi coped with everything that befell him, with a maturity uncharacteristic of his age.

      His speed on an empty track was impressive, and his confidence and determination when overtaking were excellent. He's going to have some more difficult moments this season, but we're happy with the trajectory he's following. Fourth place was a fair reward.

      We are now heading to Shanghai and are looking forward to returning to China after last year's impressive stage. We felt the passion and energy of the local fans, who were happy to see Formula 1 return to the country after a five-year hiatus.

      China has the world's largest automotive market and one of the leading economies, so the country is critical to the global presence of sports. I am sure that this year we will see another great stage."