Max Verstappen takes shot at Mercedes after lapping Lewis Hamilton during Emilia Romagna Grand Prix win

Verstappen lapped Hamilton during the Imola race as Mercedes continue to struggle for pace

Verstappen won the Emilia Romagna GP in Italy on Sunday (Getty Images)

Max Verstappen aimed a dig at Mercedes’ lack of pace after lapping Lewis Hamilton during the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on Sunday.

The reigning world champion produced a superb performance to claim his second victory of the 2022 season in Italy.

But Hamilton, who ruled himself out of the drivers’ championship after the race, suffered throughout and could only manage 13th place on another torturous day for the seven-time champion.

The Brit’s woes were compounded by Verstappen lapping him, just four months after the pair were battling it out for the title in one of the all-time great rivalries.

And while Verstappen insists he did not take any great pleasure from going past Hamilton, he did take the opportunity to to level a thinly-veiled dig at Mercedes.

The 24-year-old Dutchman said: “They (Mercedes) have been slow all year so it is not really a surprise or [I don’t feel] happy lapping Lewis compared to anyone else. It is what it is.”

Hamilton’s struggles came on an afternoon when his Mercedes teammate George Russell showed his impressive talent yet again.

The Norfolk-born racer managed a sensational fourth place, a result made even more incredible given both Mercedes’ lack of pace and the fact that he started from 11th on the grid.

Russell now sits fourth in the drivers’ standings on 49 points, with Hamilton down in seventh on 28.