Mercedes chief warns Red Bull about Lewis Hamilton's pace in Saudi Arabia

Hamilton's win in Qatar on Sunday saw his gap to championship leader Verstappen reduce to eight points from 14

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has laid out a stern warning to Red Bull Racing about Lewis Hamilton's pace at the upcoming Saudi Arabia Grand Prix. The Austrian confirmed that the Briton will have the rocket power unit that he used to carve his way through the grid at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Hamilton cruised to victory at Sunday's Qatar Grand Prix after starting from pole, and this was with an older engine. It is clear that Mercedes have improved significantly in recent weeks to be super quick on the straights and very tidy through the corners, something they struggled with earlier in the season.

The fresh power unit, which Mercedes introduced at the Brazilian Grand Prix, seemed to give Hamilton added power in the straights. The seven-time world champion used its benefit to make it from 10th place on the grid to the top step of the podium with relative ease, which raised a number of questions from their chief title rivals Red Bull.

Toto Wolff says the Mercedes car retains the black livery to reflect the team's commitment to diversity Steve ETHERINGTON/Daimler AG Mercedes

Wolff has now confirmed that the "spicy equipment" will be unleashed at the Jeddah street circuit, with the Mercedes anticipating that the track with its long straights will again benefit the Silver Arrows over the Red Bull cars. The Mercedes chief is also expecting Bottas to be challenging at the sharp end of the grid following a disappointing race in Qatar.

"Saudi should be a good track for us, but we know this year when you think it's a good one it can turn the other way around," Wolff said, as quoted on Planet F1.

"But it's a long straight, we'll get our spicy equipment (engine) out for Saudi Arabia that we didn't use (in Qatar) and hopefully Valtteri (Bottas) is right up there – we need him. But in any case, if everyone finishes the race it will go to Abu Dhabi."

After his win at the Lusail circuit on Sunday, Hamilton now trails Verstappen by 8 points with two races remaining. If the Briton wins again in Saudi - along with the fastest lap - and the Dutchman takes second, they will go into the final race of the 2021 campaign in Abu Dhabi level on points.