Wolff admits China was poor for Hamilton and Mercedes

Toto Wolff has admitted that Lewis Hamilton and his Mercedes car were not in the best place in China, as he struggled home in fourth, almost 17 seconds behind winner Daniel Ricciardo.

By his high standards, Hamilton has struggled so far this season, failing to win a race in the first three. Hamilton has never won the title after failing to win during the first three races of the season.

The four-time champion is now nine points behind championship leader Sebastian Vettel ahead of the race in Baku next weekend.

Vettel finished a disappointing eighth in Shanghai after colliding with Max Verstappen.

Wolff accepted that Mercedes and Hamilton struggled in China, saying: “He was, like the car, maybe not in the best place this weekend. He’s the best driver in my opinion but also the best ones have days where it’s not just 100%.”

Wolff also said the tyres were not quite working how Mercedes would have liked them to.

“If you have a car underneath you that is not performing as expected and tyres that are not doing what you think they should do and the strategy goes against you,” he said.