Mercedes will do “everything” to make sure Valtteri Bottas remains in a “good place🐠”, according to Formula 1 team boss Toto Wolff.

Bottas made his best-ever start to an F1 season to lead the championship after picking two wins from♛ the opening fou🦂r races, but he has been unable to prevent teammate Lewis Hamilton from picking up four victories on the spin.

A mixed bag of results since Baku has resulted in the Finn falling 36 points behind Hamilton in the dr⛦ivers’ standings, while he has not claimed a pole position since May’s Spanish Grand Prix.

Asked if he felt 🅷Hamilton’s recent run has broken Bottas, Wolff replied: “No I hope n🎃ot, and we will do everything in order to make sure Valtteri is in a good place.

“He knows that we are absolutely neutral and we are trying to give both of them equal mat꧙erial and equal opportunity.

“With a decent start in some of the last few races he could have won one or two of them, and h♈e knows that.

“I’m optimistic that Valtteri just needs to one good weekend to come closer ag𒀰ain to Lewis and not let himꦍ run away with the championship.”

And Wolff reckons Bottas finds himself up against "maybe the best driver that has ever existed" in the shape of five-time wor𝐆ld champion Hamilton, whose French Grand Prix marked the 79th win of his career. 

"In ge﷽neral in the United Kingdom, Lewis is not recognised how he should be recognised," Wolff said. 

"One d♕ay he's going to stop his career, with multiple records, and people will say 'he was the greatest driver on the planet and we were witnesses of that journey, and wasn't he an interesting personality with aಌll the things he did?'.

"But for whatever reason there is this idea of hitting out, which maybe it provide🦄s the better headline, maybe it sells more newspapers, or gives more clicks.

"I don't think it recognises the opportunity that w൩e are part of, to see maybe th♔e best driver that has ever existed on an exceptional journey."

Bottas concꦫeded tyre management struggles hampered his pace in Fꦬrance, as he trailed Hamilton by nearly 20 seconds.

Despite the significant margin in both qualifying and the race, Bottas insists Ha💖milton is not “unbeata🐎ble”.

“It’s something I need to look at,” Bottas said. “He was really strong and consistent, and also in qualifying. He’s not unbe𒀰atable; I know that. I just need work hard."