Hamilton due lucky pendulum swing - Wolff

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is confident Lewis Hamilton can escape his run of bad luck following another difficult race in the Monaco Grand Prix.

Hamilton has not stood on the F1 podium since the opening event of the season in Bahrain when a late double Red Bull retirement gifted him third place.

A run of misfortune for the seven-time F1 champion continued in Monaco with Hamilton suffering damage in a collision caused by Alpine's Esteban Ocon.

Later in the race, Ocon's team-mate Fernando Alonso became a mobile roadblock for Hamilton as the Spanish driver was several seconds a lap slower than was possible in a bid to save his tyres.

Bemoaning Hamilton's unlucky run, Wolff said: "He was stuck again - contact with Esteban, stuck behind Fernando, [there was] the red flag in qualifying.

“I think the pendulum will swing and these unlucky situations will stop for Lewis."

Hamilton and Russell 'on the same pace'

While Hamilton has struggled for luck, team-mate George Russell remains the only driver to have finished in the top five in all seven grands prix this season.

Russell is also the only driver to have scored points in every race, albeit 41 adrift of championship leader Max Verstappen in his Red Bull.

Asked if Russell is now ahead of Hamilton on outright pace, Wolff added: “They are very much on the same pace. One leads one practice and the other the other one.

"It is great how they also work together to get our car straight because we need to get our car straight.”

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