“Difficult” relations between Rosberg and Hamilton
Nico Rosberg once again opened up about his relationship with his teammate Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes AMG F1. According to him, even though limits have not yet been exceeded, the two men are nevertheless walking on a tightrope.
Since the beginning of the 2014 Formula 1 season, Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton have been engaged in a fratricidal battle for the top of the world championship. The two Mercedes drivers, at the wheel of the most competitive cars of the moment, have sometimes had to face some tensions, such as during the Monaco Grand Prix which almost caused their good relationship to implode.
If the intelligence of Mercedes’ management and the determination of the two drivers resolved the issue internally, Nico Rosberg admits, however, that maintaining cordial, even friendly, relations between them is becoming increasingly difficult: « It’s difficult, very difficult. Internally, we need to find a balance, also because, first and foremost, we drive for Mercedes, we represent Mercedes, and we want to do the best job possible for them. We also represent the thousands of people, colleagues, who work at the factory and have families who depend on us, » he stated to our British colleagues at ESPN F1.
The pragmatism and involvement of Rosberg result in behavior he hopes will be exemplary, while trying to get the better of his teammate in all circumstances: « We must do the best job as a team. But there comes a moment when you must beat the other guy. It’s on a razor’s edge. »
To maintain this good relationship between the two drivers, Mercedes management has deployed all available resources, which greatly impresses Nico Rosberg: « It’s a very, very difficult job. We are living through one of the most challenging periods to manage the situation as a whole and we are really very happy because everything is very well set up from this point of view with the three main figures, Niki [Lauda, the non-executive director], Toto [Wolff, the executive director], and Paddy [Lowe, the technical director], of course more Toto and Paddy who are the most present people in the daily race operations. I am grateful for the way they have managed the team and the situations. They have done a good job and it will remain a challenge in the future. »
