Hamilton "unbelievable" drive 'saved Mercedes again' at Imola - Wolff

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has hailed Lewis Hamilton's recovery to second place in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix as the drive that "saved all of us again."

Mercedes endured a miserable two-lap period at the halfway stage of the race, with Hamilton sliding off track from second at Tosa, dropping down to 10th, with Valtteri Bottas colliding heavily with George Russell just moments later at Tamburello.

The resultant red flag period gave Hamilton time to compose himself before a remarkable comeback drive limited the potential damage for the reigning world champion and his team.

Speaking to Sky Sports F1 about the incident-filled laps, Wolff said: "That was not my most happy moment when we thought the race was completely lost but then Lewis' completely unbelievable driving just saved all of us again."

Hamilton's late fastest lap ensured he held onto the championship lead from victor Max Verstappen, of Red Bull, by a solitary point, despite the tribulations of his challenging afternoon.

After closing in on Verstappen ahead of his mistake and then being able to cut through the field, Wolff believes Imola has proven the low-rake W12 is a fast car despite ongoing concerns that it has been hampered by regulation changes.

"[We are] still leading the championship, with the fastest lap, and what actually gives it a silver lining or a positive connotation today is that we seem to have a really quick race car," he said.

"We seemed to have it in Bahrain too and today I would say clearly the quickest car and we just need to sort out our qualifying performance."

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