Analysis: the evolution of the relationship between Hamilton and Rosberg

The controversial move, which was eventually cleared of all suspicions, by Nico Rosberg during the last minute of Q3 on Saturday, revealed tensions between the two Mercedes drivers that seemed ultimately inevitable.

But their origins actually date back to before the past weekend, as Toto Wolff informed us this Sunday that Nico Rosberg was annoyed by Lewis Hamilton’s behavior during the race at the Spanish Grand Prix three weeks ago.

The Turning Point of the Spanish Grand Prix

Indeed, the British driver reportedly did not listen to his team’s instructions on Sunday in Barcelona, asking him not to push his engine to the maximum in order to preserve it. But to fend off his teammate, who was hot on his heels, the 2008 world champion ignored this warning. Nico Rosberg, having been made aware of the situation, immediately saw tensions rise between the two men, as explained by Toto Wolff: « Nico felt aggrieved by what happened on Sunday afternoon in Barcelona, and I think that’s quite normal. But this situation will not happen again. I think they are both looking for the best way to gain the upper hand, but isn’t that quite normal? »

With such a level of domination, Mercedes can afford to let its drivers fight among themselves, but Wolff still wants to remain very cautious and will intervene if he deems it necessary: « We have a chance to win the championship and as long as all this does not harm the team spirit, as long as it is not underhanded, we will continue to manage the situation in the way we have since the beginning. From the moment our drivers no longer act in the spirit of Mercedes-Benz, then we will act accordingly. »

The shocking statement from Hamilton in Monaco

However, the war is not far from breaking out between the two men according to the behavior and declarations of Lewis Hamilton on Saturday after qualifying. The English driver was very nervous in the press conference and expressed himself in these terms before leaving the circuit: “I don’t know if Senna and Prost talked about it, but I am quite admiring of how the former handled things at that time. I will take him as an example.”

The Briton even seems convinced that his teammate deliberately went off the track during qualifying to prevent him from taking pole position: « We analyzed the data and we looked at what needed to be seen… I wish you could see them… »

When you know the level of tension that existed between the Brazilian and the Frenchman, this statement is not intended to calm things down. That said, during the race, Hamilton didn’t act on his words and merely criticized his team’s strategy, which he considered guilty of failing to anticipate his pit stop before the safety car intervention: « When I was at McLaren, we had two strategists, and the strategy would have been, for my strategist, to get the best result for me. Unfortunately, we have only one strategist at Mercedes, he is fantastic, but his role in the team is to maintain the hierarchy. »

The distinction between “friend” and “colleague”

More specifically about his relationship with Rosberg, Hamilton notably stated: “We are not friends, we are colleagues, and we will work together to deliver as many one-two finishes as possible for the team.”

To which Rosberg replied after his victory on Sunday: “We can’t say things are bad between us. We are friends… well, friends is a big word. Let’s say we work well together.”

Tension clearly escalated this weekend in Monaco, and the difficult relationship between the two drivers is becoming increasingly hard to hide. Niki Lauda, non-executive director of Mercedes, has decided to take matters into his own hands and speak to his drivers to calm the situation before it worsens further.