Toto Wolff makes ‘undriveable’ Mercedes admission to Lewis Hamilton

Mercedes chief Toto Wolff admitted to Lewis Hamilton that the car was 'undriveable' following a disastrous weekend for the seven-time world champion at Imola.

The British driver started in 14th position on the grid following a poor qualifying session and difficulties in the Sprint, with Hamilton unable to improve his starting position after not having the pace to work his way through the grid.

That proved to be the case again on race day at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, with Hamilton encountering a frustrating afternoon and finding himself at the back of a DRS train, unable to make the move on those ahead of them.

Mercedes continue to struggle with 'porpoising' issues that have limited their pace, putting them in the middle of the pack, and Wolff confessed to Hamilton after the conclusion of the first European race of the season that the car is 'undriveable'.

"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," he said on team radio after the race.

Hamilton replied: "No worries Toto. Let's keep working hard," to which the Mercedes chief added: "We will."

The result leaves Hamilton seventh in the Driver's Championship following the opening four races of the season, already with a 51-point deficit to early pacesetter Charles Leclerc – and the Brit has already conceded he's not in the title charge.

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While it was an afternoon to forget for Hamilton, it was much better running for his teammate George Russell, who took home fourth place to maintain his record of a top-five finish in each of his four races since his move to Mercedes.

Russell sits third in the standings, 30 points behind Leclerc, and finished the race at Imola strong after seeing off a late threat from Valterri Bottas – the man who's seat he took at Mercedes ahead of the new campaign.

Mercedes now have two weekends until the maiden Miami Grand Prix at the start of May, where they'll hope to start improving on what has been a disappointing campaign thus far.

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