Hamilton accolades render 'jealousy and negativity' obselete - Wolff

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has insisted any "jealousy and negativity" encountered by Lewis Hamilton after his 100th pole position will be irrelevant.

The seven-time champion reached the milestone at last weekend's Spanish Grand Prix, becoming the first driver to hit a tonne of poles.

Despite the vast amount of success achieved in his career, Hamilton has consistently been subject to criticism and scepticism due to his affiliation with the all-powerful Mercedes team.

"There will always people who see it that way," said Wolff. "The stronger you get the more jealousy and negativity you will encounter.

"It is totally irrelevant what somebody else says, it is only relevant what he thinks and we think within the team. If you listened to all the noise that is out there we would be more distracted from our job."

Despite entering the season as the perceived underdog after Red Bull's scintillating pre-season performance, Mercedes and Hamilton hold the edge in both the drivers' and constructors' standings with Wolff suggesting the combination is only becoming stronger.

"He is clearly the outstanding driver," he added. "100 pole positions and he is growing as a personality on and off track.

"Clearly, there is something he does much better than anybody else otherwise he wouldn't be a seven-time world champion if that was not the case.

"I think the combination of team and driver needs to function and it has functioned over the last seven years and it continues to be strong."

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