Criticisms have always swirled around Lewis Hamilton since his domination begun with Mercedes. People have pointed out that the Briton only won the seven world championship titles because of the car, and not his racing talent.

Recently, George Russell, the one-off driver for the Sakhir GP, who had pretty much no experience with the car, led the pack for a handful of laps.

This may have boosted the speculations of Lewis being able to deliver only because of the car. However, Mercedes boss, Toto Wolff, was quite unhappy with such remarks on his team’s star driver. He countered such opinions by stating that Lewis continues to be the “benchmark.”

Mercedes boss backs Lewis Hamilton amid criticisms

According to GPFans, Toto Wolff opined on the allegations that Lewis is not the best driver on the grid. “Lewis is still the benchmark. He is the best race driver out there,” he said.

“He has proven that with his multiple records. And we must not be carried away at this stage by a phenomenal drive from a new kid who has a bright future in Formula 1.”

Russell drove an incredible race last weekend. However, unfortunately, it did not reflect on the results, as the young Briton came home in P9. Since then, the fans started comparing Russell to Valtteri Bottas, who doesn’t seem to be in his prime at the moment.

Combination of the best car and the best driver makes all the difference: Toto

The Austrian revealed the formula behind Lewis’s successful run in F1. He felt that it is the balance of the best car and the best driver that delivers incredible results as it did for Lewis.

“I think Lewis Hamilton wins so much and so many titles because he is the best driver in the best car at the moment.

“It is never won alone,” Toto said. “It is never the driver that makes all the difference. And it is never the car that makes all the difference. It is the combination of the two.”

By the looks of it, Russell might soon replace Bottas in the second Mercedes car, most likely lining up alongside the seven-time world champion.

If Mercedes manage to get themselves such a line-up, it will definitely be a rollercoaster ride for the entire team. Who knows? It could even develop into a second version of the Lewis Hamilton-Nico Rosberg saga.

However, it is such fights at the top that F1 has lacked so far, and the fans have been aching for. So, will the 2022 season deliver such an enthralling rivalry?