The 2019 Formula 1 season is seeing huge swings in performance at the front of the field, according to Mercedes' team boss Toto Wolff, after his team locked out the front-row for the Chinese Grand Prix.
During the season opener in Australia, Ferrari was unable to match the performance of Mercedes, which took a dominant 1-2 win, with Valtteri Bottas ahead of Lewis Hamilton.
At the previous race in Bahrain, the leading pace swung in favour of Ferrari, as Charles Leclerc took a maiden pole position, comfortably beating team-mate Sebastian Vettel.
Ferrari converted that pace in race trim before its prospects were undone by Leclerc's engine glitch and Vettel's spin.
Throughout the Chinese GP weekend, Mercedes has once again shown better pace than Mercedes.
"The Ferraris squeezed it all out and were very fast again on the straights, but we were quicker in the corners and that was ultimately how we stayed ahead today," said Wolff.
"Our car looks really good in terms of downforce level, but we need to improve our straight-line speed. It is always a combination of power and drag, so we need to leave no stone unturned on the chassis and the power unit to recover a little bit.
"We're seeing massive swings from weekend to weekend, even within one team, and it makes this season really interesting. Valtteri was in a class of his own in Melbourne, he struggled in Bahrain, but then he has come back here.
"For Lewis, it was the other way around; he had some issues in the race in Australia, but was really strong in Bahrain. If you look at Leclerc and Vettel it's very similar. It makes racing unpredictable and I'm sure we will see an exciting race tomorrow as well."
Mercedes currently holds a 39-point lead over Ferrari in the standings.
