Damon Hill explains 'massive carrot' dangling in front of Toto Wolff and Mercedes

Mercedes may still be off the pace compared to Red Bull and Ferrari, but Damon Hill still reckons Lewis Hamilton and George Russell will have a chance this year once the Silver Arrows get their problems fixed. Through four races this season, Mercedes have been unable to match the pace of their two main rivals.

Russell has been consistent in his performances, finishing no lower than fifth so far. But Hamilton has seemingly struggled the most and could only manage 13th last time out in Imola.

The seven-time world champion has even ruled himself out of fighting for the title this season, despite there still being 19 scheduled races left in the year. The first of those comes this weekend and Hill hasn't completely ruled out Mercedes from springing a surprise.

Mercedes' biggest issue has been their inability to drive low to the ground because of the porpoising on the car. But Hill believes, once that is fixed, Mercedes should be on the charge for race wins once again.

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"Would you completely rule out Mercedes?" Hill said on the F1 Nation podcast. "They've got a lot to think about but perhaps they could throw themselves into the pot.

"They have even less resources that they can use because they've had so much success so they're actually on the limit with how much developments, wind tunnel and financial resources."

He added: "They're almost a second off the pace but that's because they can't get their car low enough. And they can't get their car low enough because of this porpoising.

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"You look at the front end of these cars now, they've got these underneath the bib where the skid plate is at the front, just behind the drivers' knees almost,