Toto Wolff told Lewis Hamilton he was “wrong” to make Ferrari claim

Toto Wolff has revealed he told Lewis Hamilton he was “wrong” to call himself “useless” and suggest that Ferrari should replace him with another driver.

Seven-time world champion Hamilton described himself as “useless” and claimed Ferrari should “change driver” after he suffered a disappointing Q2 elimination at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Hamilton was left in a particularly downbeat mood as he qualified and finished a lowly 12th at one of his best circuits before F1’s three-week long summer break.

Former Mercedes teammate George Russell said Hamilton was talking “nonsense” with his claims, while Wolff was left unimpressed with the 40-year-old Briton’s comments.

"I thought that was wrong to say that, and I told him that the same evening and again the next day," Wolff told select media including Motorsport.com.

“Because he's still the GOAT [greatest of all time]. What I said is, did you ever hear Michael Jordan say about himself that he's useless and that you change the player? No.

"You're wearing your heart on your sleeve, which is good, which is a fantastic character trait of his - That he speaks his emotion. And that makes him also the superstar he is. He has those emotions and doesn't hide.

"But that one, I felt was just such a bad moment for him that he said that, because it's simply not true.

“If he retires, he's still the GOAT. He's going to retire and nobody is going to ever know that he was at Ferrari at the end. Who thinks about the Schumacher and Mercedes time? That isn't relevant for Schumacher's career, so…"

Toto Wolff thinks Lewis Hamilton can still win title

Hamilton is enduring a nightmare debut campaign with Ferrari, having struggled to adapt to the SF-25 and been comprehensively outperformed by teammate Charles Leclerc.

Hamilton has gone 15 races without recording a grand prix podium for Ferrari and crashed out of last weekend's Dutch Grand Prix. 

Despite his current problems, Wolff believes Hamilton is still capable of winning an elusive and record-breaking eighth world championship.

"If Ferrari was having the best car, I think, Lewis, with his experience of scoring all year long can win a world championship,” Wolff said.

Wolff downplayed the suggestion that Hamilton does not appear happy at Ferrari.

"There were moments of unhappiness with us [too], many times,” he added.

"All the reasons he had to go to Ferrari are still valid today. He needed a change of environment, and we needed a change of environment.

“We weren't as competitive as we would have wished. Ferrari looked better. Every racing driver wants to race with Ferrari. He likes the colour red anyway. The deal that was on the table was very good.”