"We’re not making such a call" - Mercedes boss refutes questions on using team orders to help Lewis Hamilton over George Russell

Mercedes' Toto Wolff claimed the team will not be using team orders to favor Lewis Hamilton over George Russell in the 2022 F1 championship. The Austrian exec said the team will let the two drivers fight it out equally until one driver is statistically out of championship contention.

Russell has outperformed the seven-time world champion on every occasion so far in 2022 bar one. The young Briton is the only driver on the grid to have finished in the top-5 in every race this year, showcasing his consistency. Meanwhile, the boy from Stevenage has struggled to find pace with his W13 and currently trails Russell by 34-points in the championship, putting him at a sizeable disadvantage. Despite his gap to the former Williams driver, Toto Wolff claims the team will not favor Hamilton over Russell or vice versa until one driver is mathematically out of the equation.

When asked about the matter after the 2022 F1 Monaco GP, Wolff said:

“No, 100 per cent no. One hundred per cent we will allow them to race until a driver is mathematically out of contention, we’re not making such a call. They are very much on the same pace, one practice the one leads, then the other, and that is great how also they work together to get our car straight, because we need to get that car straight.”

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Lewis Hamilton claims he'd back Ferrari if he weren't an F1 driver

Lewis Hamilton has admitted that if he weren't a driver on the F1 grid, he would back Ferrari and Charles Leclerc in the World Championship battle in 2022. The 37-year-old has not been as dominant as he would have liked, as Mercedes continue to search for solutions to their struggles under F1 new regulations.

Speaking to Corriere della Sera, the driver revealed whom he'd support in the world championship if he weren't partaking in it. The Briton also revealed that while he has always admired Ferrari, he has no plans to drive for them. Hamilton said:

“[Charles] Leclerc is very strong, you could always see that. I would say one thing: if I could sit down with the fans on the bleachers over there, I would support Charles. I am a Ferrari fan. Of course, it would have been nice to race for Ferrari during my career, but things happen for specific reasons. Mercedes is my family, I will always be a Mercedes driver, like Stirling Moss was.”

While it certainly looks bleak for Lewis Hamilton in 2022, fans of the driver are certain the team will be able to give him the car that he deserves, enabling him to rise back to the top of the sport.