Wolff: Mercedes always knew Leclerc would be a threat

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has claimed his team always expected Charles Leclerc to be a world title threat since his move to Ferrari at the beginning of the season.

Leclerc was denied a first grand prix victory last weekend, following an engine issue that saw him lose a cylinder of his Ferrari engine with just 11 laps remaining of the race.

The 21-year-old Monegasque driver had been comfortably in the lead in Bahrain, following a dominant qualifying session, but could only manage to scrape a podium finish after the engine malfunction.

Mercedes rocked home to record another one-two finish, but Wolff conceded that Ferrari, and Leclerc, deserved to win the race and the Silver Arrows' boss believes the new Scuderia man will be a strong force, and will challenge for the world title in his maiden season at the Italian team.

"I think we have always expected him to be a threat," Wolff explained to Crash.net. "He is in a great car and has the skills and the character to be very successful.