"We have maybe two of the three best drivers" - Mercedes' Toto Wolff happy with team's line-up despite disappointing start to 2022 F1 season

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff says he is happy with his team’s driver line-up consisting of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, despite the 2022 F1 season turning out to be one of their worst in the sport.

Wolff believes his drivers are among the best in the sport, and therefore deserve better from the team. Speaking to planetF1 following the Imola GP, he said:

“I’m very happy with the driver line-up, in that respect we have maybe two of the three best drivers on board. They deserve a car and power unit that they can fight with at the front. They don’t deserve the way things are now.”

Despite Mercedes’ struggles this season, consistent performances from its drivers, particularly George Russell, have meant that the team was briefly ahead of Red Bull during the first few rounds of the season. Both Russell and Hamilton have scored a podium each to net the team 77 points haul in the first four rounds.

Furthermore, Wolff praised his drivers’ cooperative attitude in trying to help the team move forward, rather than trying to outperform each other and causing friction within the team. Speaking of Russell’s attitude, in particular, Wolff said:

“He approaches the situation very professionally and analytically. I like to see that there is no friction between the two. On the contrary, they are very productive and positive.”

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Lewis Hamilton hoping for “light at the end of the tunnel” for Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton believes Mercedes will fix their numerous issues and hopes for a breakthrough soon. The Briton said the team will have to accept the reality of their current situation but will continue to work on improvements. Speaking to RN365 following the Imola GP, he said:

“We continue just keep our heads down, keep working. We’re nowhere near where we want to be, but we’ll just keep fighting, keep working as hard as we can, and hope that eventually we see light at the end of the tunnel. At some stage, we will have a better understanding of whether that is the case or not. Maybe all of a sudden we fix the bouncing, and we unlock more potential.”

Lewis Hamilton had high hopes ahead of the 2022 season. He was determined to return to the sport and perform better than he has ever done and finally achieve an eighth world title after it was denied to him at the end of last season.

Following the Imola GP, however, the Briton has come to accept that Mercedes just doesn’t have the pace to challenge for the title.