Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has warned McLaren that the Silver Arrows do not have anything "to lose", with George Russell to challenge for sprint victory in Qatar.
Russell secured a front row start for the sprint race in Qatar, and fell just 0.063s short of beating Lando Norris to pole.
Lewis Hamilton was four tenths slower than his team-mate and starts in seventh; however, both Mercedes drivers praised the pace of the W15.
Despite Russell having won last weekend in Las Vegas, Wolff agreed that the Brackley-based team had predicted ahead of the final triple-header that Qatar would be its best venue.
"Yes," Wolff revealed to Sky Sports F1. "Unfortunately, in FP1, it looked like our predictions weren't right, but at the end, we got it together."
Russell is in hot-form after his victory in Sin City and is targeting back-to-back victories this weekend, at the Lusail International Circuit.
The 26-year-old could be a nuisance for McLaren, who can win the F1 constructors' title on Sunday.
Mercedes' form has come too late in the day to save the team's season, with fourth having already been sealed by the German outfit.
To counter a difficult campaign, the team are targeting a strong end to the year and to build-on from Las Vegas.
Wolff recognises that Mercedes could be victorious both in the Qatar sprint and in the main race; however, the key is claiming the leas as quickly as possible to topple McLaren.
"It's about taking the lead," added Wolff. "I think that we don't have a lot to lose, George can be dynamic and with good race pace."
Wolff later continued: "I think the cars are so close together, also on the long runs, that overtaking is quite difficult."
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