"Toto is trying to lift him up" - Lewis Hamilton 'had a big role to play in that poor result', says former Mercedes driver

2016 world champion Nico Rosberg claimed that team boss Toto Wolff is trying to lift Lewis Hamilton's spirit after a nightmare weekend at the Imola GP. The German, who drove for Mercedes with Hamilton, pointed out to Wolff taking the blame for the lack of performance.

Rosberg said:

“Here, Toto [Wolff] was playing the mental game which is very smart on his behalf again, taking the blame themselves and really trying to support Lewis [Hamilton] mentally. Lifting him up and saying that it wasn’t Lewis’ doing, it’s on us.”

Rosberg, however, admitted that the Briton was indeed to blame for his poor performance this Sunday. Hamilton's current team-mate George Russell significantly outperformed him and finished fourth, while the seven-time world champion failed to make it to the top-10. The German said:

“It’s very smart because it’s not quite the truth and let’s not forget that Russell is in P4 with that same car, so Lewis definitely had a big role to play in that poor result this weekend. Russell got P4 out of it with a brilliant weekend, so there was more in that car. Really, Toto is trying to lift him [Hamilton] up. It’s so important that Lewis keeps that motivation through the whole season, it’s important for the team and it’s quite easy for Lewis to lose it in these kind of situations.”

Mercedes limited their damage with a strong finish from Russell. With a splendid weekend for Red Bull, however, their gap to the Milton Keynes-based team in the championship points has increased drastically.

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Toto Wolff explains heated exchange with Lewis Hamilton at Imola qualifying

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff appeared to share a heated exchange with Lewis Hamilton at the end of Q2 during Friday's qualifying session at Imola. The Austrian has now clarified that there were no disagreements between the two.

Wolff told Sky Sports that the two merely vented to each other after a difficult day on track, saying:

“There was no disagreement at all. It doesn’t get any closer than the two of us are. We were just so angry about the session overall and he vented at me, I vented at him but it was absolutely about the same thing.”

Lewis Hamilton has been outperformed by his teammate on several occasions this season. He will now certainly be looking to make a turnaround ahead of the inaugural Miami Grand Prix.