Miami (AFP) — Mercedes chief Toto Wolff believes his former star driver Lewis Hamilton will be back to his best despite a difficult start to life with Ferrari.

The seven-time world champion left Mercedes after 12 years to join Ferrari this season, but the 40-year-old has been well behind teammate Charles Leclerc so far.

The Briton’s only success this year came in the sprint race in Shanghai, and Wolff said that the win was enough to show that Hamilton still has what it takes.

“We have seen that magic in the sprint race in Shanghai. He dominated that race, and it is not like you have that magic in one race, and then suddenly you lose it in the following one,” said the Mercedes team CEO.

“I very much believe it is still there. If he aligns his performance contributors, is in the right space, and the car is to his liking, he will be stellar, and I have no doubt about that.”

Wolff said it was not a shock that Hamilton would need time to adjust to a new car and new team after so long at Mercedes.

“I am not surprised he has hit those road bumps because he was with us for 12 years, and he has been put in a Ferrari where his teammate has been for a long time, and his teammate is clearly one of the very good ones,” he said.

“So, if I look from the outside and speak to him, too, it is a trajectory that any new driver needs to go through at a top team.”

Wolff also addressed rumours about the future of his British driver, George Russell, who is out of contract at the end of this season.

“George is part of the Mercedes family, and always has been, and as I see things today, why break a team that is on a trajectory that is positive?” said the Austrian, who said Russell had taken on a leading role since Hamilton’s departure.

“When a seven-time world champion leaves the team, George was a little bit in the shadow of Lewis, as we all were, but he is now the one who gives the direction, and he can be relied on. And he has massively stepped up.”