"Both of them are out-performing the car"- Mercedes' Toto Wolff lauds Lewis Hamilton and George Russell for their 'professional' spirit in a non-competitive car

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has heaped praise on his drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell for “outperforming” the team’s 2022 challenger. He also lauded the two for pushing each other in a “professional” manner to bring home valuable points for the team at each race weekend.

Following the team’s first double podium finish of the season at the 2022 F1 French GP, Wolff told RaceFans:

“Clearly, both of them are outperforming the car at the moment. They are very professional because you’re having a car that is more competitive on one weekend and then not competitive on the other weekend and we know that progression [isn’t constant].”

He added, saying:

“It’s still very difficult to cope with that and this week again we see them being very calm and rational about it. And that really impresses me this season, that you don’t see these kinds of emotional swings between good days and bad days.”

After strong performances at Silverstone and the Red Bull Ring, Mercedes were disappointed with their lack of pace during Friday's practice at Circuit Paul Ricard. The W13 lacked the straight-line speed that was crucial around the venue while still suffering from corner instability.

Yet, the team managed to bounce back from their practice struggles to secure decent qualifying results and improve on their position come Sunday. Lewis Hamilton in particular often displayed comparable pace to the front runners, even if he ultimately lacked the speed to challenge Max Verstappen for the win.

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Lewis Hamilton “pushing hard” to maximize a car not good enough to fight for titles

Toto Wolff has claimed that Lewis Hamilton has been “pushing hard” to try and maximize the potential of the Mercedes W13, despite the car being incapable of challenging for the world title.

Wolff said that Hamilton’s performances have been “faultless” throughout this year following the Briton’s fourth top 3 finish of the season at the 2022 F1 French GP. Speaking to RaceFans, Wolff said:

“I think you just see a seven-time world champion in a car that’s maybe just not good enough for a world championship at the moment. He’s just pushing very hard and maximizing what’s in the car and faultless delivery.”

Lewis Hamilton started the 2022 season on the back foot, struggling with balance issues that saw him fail to deliver consistent results. Meanwhile, his new and less experienced teammate George Russell managed to put in consistent performances.

Following the 2022 F1 Azerbaijan GP, however, the seven-time world champion seems to have made a breakthrough and has since outscored Russell in every race.