Italian GP: Mercedes rejects Hamilton/Rosberg conspiracy theory

Following the Italian Grand Prix, marked by Lewis Hamilton’s victory ahead of Nico Rosberg, some observers and fans, mostly on social media, expressed doubts about the unintentional nature of the German driver’s errors while braking at the first chicane.

Twice, in fact, on the 9th and 29th laps, the championship leader had to take the escape route after slightly locking the tires, losing about two seconds each time straight.

When questioned about this theory, Toto Wolff, the team director, categorically dismisses the accusations that his team had asked the German to make these off-track excursions: « You mean we told him to miss the braking point, go through the run-off area, and let Lewis pass? No. It’s for the drivers’ world championship. He was under pressure and Lewis wanted [the victory]. »

« Only a paranoid mind could come up with such an idea, » says the Austrian, before joking, in front of the British press (Autosport and Sky Sports): « If it were our idea, it would have been done really well! »

He acknowledges nonetheless that Rosberg is not accustomed to such incidents: « This is not like other races we have seen from Nico. He rarely makes mistakes. Two today and in the same place. There was a lot of pressure on Nico because Lewis was very fast yesterday and you could see that today too. »

Asked afterwards about the reasons for these two errors, Wolff explains that the front-rear brake balance was adjusted during the race: « To be honest, we haven’t properly analyzed that. To save the rear tires, we shifted the braking towards the front and that’s when it locked up for the first time. One of the main messages was not to flat spot the tires because if that happens, you have to stop again. »

Indeed, with only one pit stop during the race, damaging the tires was problematic at Monza more than elsewhere, with the risk of having to change them again due to both the risks of performance drop and vibrations. By choosing to go straight instead of locking his wheels more sharply to make the turn, Rosberg seemingly intended to preserve his tires, even at the risk of losing a few seconds.

« He braked too hard and missed the braking point. It was strange. But there was no mechanical reason behind it, » adds his executive director.

A few seconds after the mistake that cost Nico Rosberg the lead in the Grand Prix, the FOM broadcast briefly showed Toto Wolff’s face, smiling, in the Mercedes garage. This image, also shared on social media, was brandished as proof of a conspiracy: “First of all, it’s not live. So, every time the camera is on you, the signal comes afterward. So, it wasn’t synchronized with the image,” he explains. “I feel like Big Brother is watching me, I’m going to hide in the engineers’ office next time! No, there was a smile, it was when the two were getting close to each other, and it was a smile that said: ‘Here we go, another close battle.’”

Rosberg: “Mistakes happen”

From the perspective of the main person involved, Nico Rosberg, the conspiracy theory makes no sense: « I’ve heard that, but what would be the reason for me to do that intentionally? There is none. If the team gives you the order [to let your teammate pass] then you do it, but there is no reason why the team would have asked me to change position, or something like that. »

The only thing on people’s minds might be Spa, but Spa was a mistake for which I apologized, he recalled for Reuters. It’s not something where I need to give something back. Mistakes, errors, they happen, and that’s how it is, an apology and we move on. It’s not like we’re going to start reshuffling things or anything, so there’s no reason why I would do that on purpose.

He recalls that these mistakes were made throughout the weekend: « They may seem a bit strange, but I did it during practice. I can take the turn, no problem, but there is a very high probability that my tire will be flat afterward, so I would have had to make two stops and would have lost a lot of time. At that moment, I just decided to go straight. With Lewis, I had to see how it would go. I don’t know, I just messed up, » he declared to ESPN F1.

Stewart very doubtful

On the part of the highly respected Jackie Stewart, triple Formula World Champion in 1969, 1971, and 1973, the matter isn’t as clear: There was really little tire smoke and I don’t really understand that on such a simple part of the track. It was a part of the circuit where there was no real penalty for making that mistake, so I’m a bit confused. I thought it was a bit too easy. I thought he could have at least made an effort to go through the corner, but he didn’t. The first time, I thought: ‘That’s wise,’ because he knew it wasn’t a hard thing to believe; the second time, I thought: ‘Hey, what’s going on there?’

When asked if he thinks it was part of a strategy put in place by Mercedes, the Scotsman responded to The Guardian: « That has been suggested. »

Lewis Hamilton’s victory allowed him to gain seven points on Nico Rosberg, who now has a 22-point lead over his teammate with six races remaining in the season.