Toto Wolff has dismissed suggestions that Nico Rosberg is weak when racing against Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton in the battle for the world title.

Rosberg was beaten into second place by Hamilton at last weekend's Japanese Grand Prix, which saw the Briton extend his lead at the top of the drivers' standings.

However, Wolff has claimed that Rosberg will continue to carry the fight to his championship rival.

He is quoted by Autosport as saying: "There is no way a driver will give up unless it is not mathematically possible any more. This is what I see in Nico's case, with his character.

"Of course, we try to maintain a good relationship in the team and not have any animosity and sometimes when a driver appears to be nice it is seen as a weakness, but it is not that at all."

Rosberg has not won a race since his victory at the Austrian Grand Prix in June.