Mercedes team boss has said that Red Bull are "the team to beat" at this weekend's Monaco Grand Prix as Formula 1 heads into the fifth race of the 2021 season. Sir Lewis Hamilton once again won out in his duel with Red Bull's Max Verstappen at the Spanish Grand Prix last time out as the Mercedes driver took home his third victory of the season. But heading into one of the calendar's most iconic races, Wolff said that the title rivals were better placed to take advantage of Monaco's high-downforce, winding street circuit. "It's such a unique, intense weekend for the drivers and the team, with no margin for error. It puts the fire under your ass, and we love the challenge!" he said in a statement ahead of the race. "Monaco is a high downforce track and we know that's a key strength of Red Bull. They were very quick in sector three in Spain and that's often a good indication of strong performance in Monaco. "So, we head into the weekend knowing they are the team to beat, whilst also knowing we'll face strong competition from some of the other teams, too. But, just like the season so far, we're enjoying the hunt." Wolff added that the champions had plenty of areas to improve after the race in Spain, where they recovered from qualifying behind Verstappen to take a 1-3 finish after a bod strategy call allowed Hamilton to outpace the Red Bull. "The first couple of races have provided us with both wheel-to-wheel and strategic battles for victory," he said. "Spain was far from a perfect weekend for us and there are lots of learnings to take forward, but nevertheless, to come back from a 2-4 on lap one and score a 1-3 was a very strong result and one we can be proud of as a team.
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