Marko Hanželic
It is between 2014 and 2016 "Star Wars" with Lewis Hamilton in Nice Rosberg fill columns in newspapers and online. The driver Mercedesa they fought for the world title for three years before Rosberg after winning the title in 2016, he surprisingly retired. Toto wolff he remembers this for him before anything but a simple duel.
“Some of the things that were going on between Nice and Lewis will never be understood. Because their relationship goes back a long way, to karting and youth formulas, ” said the head of the Mercedes team in podcast 'Beyond the Grid'. Before Formula 1 Rosberg in Hamilton criteria among themselves in different youth series.
"From the role of the spectator, we observed how camaraderie turned into rivalry and then into hostility," explains Wolff and adds: “The dynamics of what was happening between the two was very difficult to understand. It finally exploded quite early, in 2013, when I joined the team. And then it got worse and worse. ”
In wordsWolff was "very difficult" to handle the situation because it was “So much negativity when they were both in the same room”. Mercedes has experienced its sporting low point at Spanish Grand Prix 2016when the drivers collided. This was not the first contact between them, but it was a collision with important consequences.
Wolff in addition to the sports component, it also remembers psychological: “The negativity dragged the whole team down. At some point, we got to the point where we had to realize that this was no longer acceptable. And we talked about that. But the enmity between them has not disappeared. "
"Not even after Nico's retirement," he adds Wolff. In other words - the relationship between Rosberg in Hamilton are still tense today. "So it's very refreshing that we haven't had any of this since Valtteri came to us.", is satisfied Wolff. Nevertheless, the head of the Mercedes team emphasizes that the whole thing is not to be understood as criticism of Rosberg.
"We shouldn't judge characters," says and adds: “I like talking to Nice today. The things it does in the field of sustainability are really remarkable. ” Nevertheless, given the knowledge he has today, he would probably no longer rely on the Hamilton-Rosberg duo, adds Dunajčan.
