F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Lewis "probably best driver in the world" admits Wolff

X (Twitter)X (Twitter)
FacebookFacebook
WhatsappWhatsapp

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has conceded that Lewis Hamilton is probably the best driver in the world at the moment, ahead of his team mate Nico Rosberg.

However Wolff also said not to discount Rosberg from this year's title fight, and that the German driver still had what it took to get on an even footing with Hamilton in the race for the 2016 world championship.

"We are half way through the 2016 season and only nineteen points separate both. That’s less than one race win - and Nico is superb in qualifying,' Wolff pointed out in conversation with the Formula 1 official website.

"He is mentally very strong and nothing is done yet," Wolff insisted. "Right now Nico is paired with Lewis who is probably the best driver in F1 at the moment - and yes, that is a tough challenge. That is a benchmark - and he accepts that."

Rosberg started the season with four straight wins and at one point was 43 points ahead in the standings, but has now slipped 19 points behind going into the summer break. Wolff preferred to see that as evidence of Hamilton's current strong surge in form rather than Rosberg buckling under the pressure.

"[Lewis] had a very good streak, an impressive record. A little bit like Nico towards the end of the season and the beginning and he has recovered all the points he lost.

"Now it’s about maintaining, if there is something like momentum, it’s for him to keep that momentum. But we’ve seen that coming in waves in both directions. I’m interested to see how it’s going to pan out when we come back after the summer break."

Wolff added that he had no qualms about Hamilton's celebrity lifestyle, which includes using the summer break to jet around the world during his down time.

"As long as he functions as a race driver on the weekend and delivers results, we don’t interfere in the private life of the drivers. Everybody is allowed to have friends in the social environment he chooses.

"This goes for both the drivers - and each member of the team. And so far over the last three years our results show that this has worked out well.

Nicolas Carpentiers’ technical review of the first half of the 2016

Chris Amon: A legend's career in pictures

Silbermann says ... Beer can save F1's future

Breakfast with ... Christian Danner

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.

Recent Posts

Norris warns MCL39 has more to give – but not everywhere

Australian Grand Prix winner Lando Norris says the season’s calendar will bring circuits that test…

24 mins ago

Horner defends Lawson after Melbourne opening bust

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has defended Liam Lawson following the latter’s challenging debut…

2 hours ago

Haas’ pointless weekend sparks turnaround vow in Shanghai

Last weekend’s Australian Grand Prix was a bruising wake-up call for Haas, with Esteban Ocon…

3 hours ago

Domenicali meets Thai PM for street race plan in Bangkok

Formula 1’s global ambitions took another vibrant on Tuesday, as CEO Stefano Domenicali touched down…

17 hours ago

Alpine’s Oakes: ‘We’ve caused a lot of the noise around Doohan’

Alpine F1 team principal Oliver Oakes has acknowledged that much of the pre-season speculation surrounding…

18 hours ago

Wolff: It's clear Mercedes has 'taken a step forward'

The 2025 Australian Grand Prix has come and gone, and for Mercedes team principal Toto…

19 hours ago