Wolff adamant: Mercedes 'never had' a number 1 driver

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff says the German outfit has "never had" a number 1 driver, and that won't change in 2022 with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.

However, many are predicting that Russell's abundant talent and speed will allow the 24-year-old to challenge his teammate's dominance, contrary to his predecessor Valtteri Bottas who was able to defeat the seven-time world champion on his day but persistently came up short in his quest to win the title during his five seasons with Mercedes.

During that period, Hamilton was the team's de facto team leader, even if he was never given any equipment benefits.

But this season, a new dynamic is in place that could lead to a more consistent inner team rivalry although Wolff insists that both his drivers will be offered equal opportunities, as has always been the case in the past as far as the Austrian is concerned.

"We don’t even know if we’re going to be in the hunt for a new title!" admitted Wolff, quoted by Sky Sports.

"We never had a situation where [it was] one and two. They had equal opportunities and the same car.

"This year, the interesting situation is we have in George the up-and-coming star, and undoubtedly the best Formula 1 driver ever in the other seat.

"So the dynamic is new and clearly it’s something that we will try to steer in a direction that has the most positive effect on developing the car and making us overall competitive."

• Read also: Schumacher convinced Russell can beat Hamilton 'from the start'

After a winter of silence that followed his disappointing loss of the world title last season, a punchy Hamilton returned to F1's stage last week and warned his rivals: "If you think what you saw at the end of the last year was my best, wait till you see this year".

And Wolff confirmed that Hamilton will return to the fray next month in Bahrain with his motivation bursting at the seams.

"I think that adversity has always made him stronger, more resilient, and determined," Wolff said. "This is the attitude I feel in him right now and, also, the mindset that I see in the team."

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