Lowe: It will be very difficult to stop Mercedes now

Williams technical chief Paddy Lowe believes that stopping Mercedes in 2019 might be out of the question for F1's top teams. The Silver Arrows have taken five-straight drivers' and constructors world championship titles since the beginning of the hybrid era in 2014.

The former Mercedes man admitted that whilst they have faced rivals in more recent years in Ferrari and to a lesser extent Red Bull, the Three-Pointed Star will still likely lead the way in 2019.

“It’s always very difficult to maintain motivation to continue to win when you’ve already been doing it,” he told RaceFans.net.

"I think that’s a problem we already faced when I was there before. I think they have the right approach to it so I think they’re going to be difficult to beat.

“We saw that again (last) year. I think it was a competition between two teams and two drivers and the better ones won, of each, because you saw the cracks appearing eventually in the opposition.

“Mercedes is a great team. I know how good it is. It will be very difficult for anyone to beat them.”

Mercedes driver line-up will remain unchanged in 2019 with reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton and teammate Valtteri Bottas remaining at the team and with it team harmony that might be vital to winning an unprecedented sixth-straight championship double.