After a point-less Sunday in Spain, Toto Wolff says Mercedes “cannot afford to drop the ball” in Monaco as they are “under attack” from Ferrari and Red Bull.

Mercedes’ points-scoring run camd to a crashing conclusion at the last race in Barcelona when Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg clashed while fighting for the lead.

Their tussle put Hamilton onto the grass, resulting in a spin for the Brit in which he collected his team-mate.

Hamilton reportedly took the blame for the crash with Mercedes, however, the Spanish stewards ruled it a racing incident.

“Clearly, Barcelona was tough to take,” said Wolff. “We came away upset at an opportunity missed – but this is racing.

“The drivers know how we operate. The team is responsible for giving them the best possible cars and they are responsible for getting the best out of them – and for bringing them home.

“When we let them down, we apologise to and the same goes the other way. It’s a pretty normal culture – we deal with setbacks together and we move on. Now, we go to Monaco and a very different challenge.”

The motorsport boss is expecting a tough challenge around the streets of Monte Carlo as he reckons Red Bull, who won the Spanish GP, will join Ferrari in the battle to overthrow Mercedes.

“Once again, we have seen our competitors make steps forward which have given us an even bigger battle on our hands.

“Red Bull came out on top in Barcelona after a close fight with Ferrari, so it’s clear that we are under attack from more than one angle.

“We cannot afford to drop the ball, so we must remain united, remain strong and hit back hard this weekend.”