Damon Hill disagrees with Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff as Mercedes sent advice

Damon Hill has urged Mercedes to believe that they can still win the world title despite a terrible start to the 2022 Formula One season. Lewis Hamilton lags well behind the leaders, including rival Max Verstappen, but Hill believes there remains enough time to make up the difference.

Hamilton and Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff have frequently downplayed their chances of the Brit winning a record eighth world championship. Performance issues and 'porpoising' have contributed to some tough results for the Silver Arrows.

However, former world champion Hill has told Mercedes that there is more than enough time to catch up with the likes of Red Bull and Ferrari if they can keep avoiding reliability issues.

The 61-year-old told Sky Sports after Hamilton came third in Canada: "I think if you actually look at the race pace, they (Red Bull) are still a bit of a way off. They sometimes show pace in the race, then you don't know how much faster Max [Verstappen] can go if he had to and typically they tend to try and manage their tyres.

JUST IN: Red Bull copy Mercedes after Horner fears in boost for Verstappen

"They don't burn out their car as fast as they can unless they have to, so I would say Mercedes still have a chunk of time to find to be serious contenders. But clearly a very happy Lewis Hamilton, putting on a brave face in what has been a very difficult year after losing out on a possible eighth title last year."

Hamilton was controversially pipped to the world title by Verstappen last season, with the deciding moment coming on the last lap of the final Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi. The Dutchman is sailing away with the 2022 contest this year, sitting 46 points above nearest rival Sergio Perez and 98 above Hamilton.

Hill's