When Toto Wolff heard that George Russell is showing Lewis Hamilton the way, the Mercedes boss firmly defended the seven-time world champion.

Hamilton's partnership with Valtteri Bottas has yielded five constructors' championships in five seasons for Mercedes, and the Briton has won four of the five drivers' titles, but Russell has earned a shot at the team in 2022.

Any doubts about Russell's performance alongside Hamilton have quickly vanished, as he has finished ahead of his teammate in seven of the eight races contested so far this season.

With three third places in those eight GPs, Russell has 99 championship points to Hamilton's 62.

Hamilton has been unlucky at times, especially with the safety car moments, but Russell has now begun to stabilize at a level that is generally good enough to overtake him.

Hamilton lost an eighth title on the last lap of the final round of the 2021 season in Abu Dhabi, but the W13 has yet to show enough speed to allow him to avenge that agonizing defeat.

During coverage of the Azerbaijan GP from , it was suggested to Wolff that Russell is showing Hamilton the way.

When asked if Hamilton is losing confidence, Wolff replied, "No, I don't think that's the case, he's the best that's ever been seen. You don't lose your ability in four months, between Abu Dhabi in 2021, dominating the last third of the season, and now."

With Mercedes facing difficulties with its W13, Wolff explained that Hamilton and Russell have been choosing different paths to try and improve the situation.

And at no point has he seen a tendency for Russell to establish a consistent lead over Hamilton.

Wolff even said that in Barcelona, where Hamilton recovered from an early touch with Kevin Magnussen to finish fifth, the "genius" has reappeared.

"Both (Russell and Hamilton) look pretty professional to me," he commented. "They have a slightly below average car and are trying to develop it. They both went in a different direction in the setup, Lewis again very experimental (at the Azerbaijan GP)."

"I think that as long as the car is not good enough to ride at the front, the differences are small and I believe you can't say 'George is continuously outperforming Lewis' or the other way around."

"We saw Lewis in Barcelona, he was the genius we know, so what I like is to see them working together and trying to get the car back to the front."