Toto Wolff issues 'no doubt' Lewis Hamilton claim after torrid start to Ferrari tenure

Toto Wolff insists he has "no doubt" Lewis Hamilton can still produce "stellar" displays in F1, despite the difficulties he has endured early in his time at Ferrari.

The seven-time F1 drivers' champion made the switch to Maranello from Mercedes over the winter, but his former team principal is adamant the "magic" is still there - it is just a case of conjuring it.

Wolff was quick to highlight how the sprint race at the Chinese Grand Prix showed Hamilton could replicate his best form for the Scuderia, when asked if he believes the British driver still has his magic or if it has deserted him.

"I think we saw that magic in the sprint race [in China]," the Austrian replied to media including RacingNews365. "He was completely dominating that race."

"It’s not like you have the magic in one race and then suddenly you lose the magic in the next one. I very much believe that it’s still there.

"If he aligns all his performance contributors and feels he is in the right space and the car is to his liking, he will be stellar. I have no doubt."

'But I'm also not surprised...'

Besides that result in Shanghai, and a third place in the subsequent sprint, in Miami, the year has made for disappointing reading thus far for Hamilton.

Whilst the 40-year-old trails Charles Leclerc by just 12 points, he has been in the shadow of the Monegasque driver for much of the campaign.

However, Wolff maintains that is not a shock, given how embedded his new team-mate is at Ferrari - and how different his new surroundings are.

"But I’m also not surprised it has those road bumps," the 53-year-old added. "He was with us 12 years – the way of operating.

"He’s been put in a Ferrari, where his team-mate has been a long time. And his team-mate clearly is one of the very good ones.

"So from the outside and speaking to him, it’s a trajectory any new driver needs to go through in a top team."