Nico Rosberg refutes ‘undriveable’ Mercedes with Hamilton and Russell comparison

Former Formula One world champion Nico Rosberg has refuted Toto Wolff's admission to Lewis Hamilton that the Mercedes car is 'undriveable', pointing to George Russell's impressive performance.

Hamilton finished outside the points for the first time this season at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, unable to work his way through the midfield pack following what was a forgetful weekend for the seven-time world champion.

Following the conclusion of the race, Mercedes team principal Wolff conceded in a radio message to Hamilton that the car was 'undriveable' and apologised for the state of affairs that the team has encountered this season.

"Lewis, sorry for what you needed to drive today. I know this is undriveable and not what we deserved to score as a result. We will move on from there but this was a terrible race."

However, those comments have been questioned by Rosberg who pointed out that Russell has excelled, having rose from 12th on the grid to finish 4th – maintaining his record of a top-five finish in each of his four races for Mercedes.

"Toto is playing that mental game, which is very smart from him, taking the blame themselves and really trying to support Lewis mentally, lifting him up and saying 'Lewis, it's really on us'.

"That's very smart because it's not quite the truth. Remember, Russell is fourth with the same car, so Lewis definitely had a big role to play in that poor weekend. Russell still managed to get fourth out of it, so there was more in that car.

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"Toto is trying to lift him up, it's really important that Lewis keeps that motivation through the whole season, it's important for the team, it's quite easy for Lewis to lose it in these situations."

Russell has finished above his teammate in each of the last three Grand Prix weekends, sitting fourth in the Driver's Championship and picking up 21 more points than his teammate so far in 2022.

Mercedes slipped to third in the Constructor's Championship following the weekend at Imola, having been leapfrogged by Red Bull, and face a stern test if they are to win a ninth-consecutive title.

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