Whatever the whys and wherefores of the Rosberg resurgence and the Hamilton slump, the fact is that all is not well between the two.

Friends since their karting days, the two remained close buddies when they entered F1.

However, over the last couple of season, as Mercedes became the dominant force in F1 the relationship has clearly soured.

From day one, racers have a special competitive streak that the rest of us can barely comprehend, and whilst this has been manageable for much of their careers, in the same teams, with equal (title-winning) equipment few friendship could really survive.

Both have pulled strokes, both have pushed it just that little too far, but for the most part it seemed to work. However, in the latter stages of this season, the relationship between the two has visibly soured.

Clearly broken in Austin, the cap throwing incident - whatever Hamilton meant by it - was clearly the tipping point for Rosberg.

The German went on to take three success wins, but as Hamilton made clear on Sunday, 'better to win a title than a race'.

This was just the latest in a series of barbs from the Briton, who has not only suggested the team is "warm" towards his teammate - essentially accusing it of bias - but openly mocked Rosberg, witness his reference to the "wind" following the German's (somewhat feeble) excuse for his error in Austin.

Now, Mercedes Motorsport boss Wolff has confirmed our suspicions, not only has the relationship between the two drivers deteriorated, it is impacting the team. Indeed, it is impacting the team to such an extent that one of them could be released from his contract early.

"We took the decision of having two evenly matched drivers in order to make the team progress faster and better," he told Motorsport.com. "It was a very conscious decision three years ago.

"Going forward, we will consider if it is the best set-up for the team," he continued. "Personality and character within the team is a crucial ingredient for the team success. If we feel that it is not aligned with the general consensus, spirit and philosophy within the team, we might consider that when we take a decision, in terms of the driver line-up going forward.

"It is important to have talented and fast drivers in the car," he added. "But we want to work with nice guys."

Earlier this year, Hamilton agreed a new contract which sees him with the team until the end of 2018, Rosberg's contract runs out at the end of next year.

Whilst some might wonder whether the posturing and pouting might be part of 'the show', F1 fans through the ages always appreciating a bit of bad blood between rival drivers, especially teammates, Wolff reveals that the current animosity is affecting the team.

"There is lots going on behind closed doors," he said. "I feel that the team is stronger than ever. We are having huge unity within the team, but the difficult relationship of the drivers is one of our weaknesses. And that is not good.

"If I were to analyse what are the biggest strengths and the biggest weakness of the team, I would say the biggest strength is the quality and the characters of the personalities within the team. The biggest weakness is the dynamic of the relationship between the drivers – and sometimes between the drivers and the team."

LATEST NEWS

more news >

LATEST IMAGES

galleries >

Click to go to the main galleries section

READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by nonickname, 03/12/2015 11:24

"First he says they are watchdogs, not puppies and now he can't control them.
Wolff by name only. His wife could do a better job."

Rating: Positive (1) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

2. Posted by karel, 03/12/2015 8:41

"Mercedes granted Hamilton the titles due to commercial reason, for the rest, from what I see and hear, Hamilton is equal to trouble for each team. With an ego for beyond his driver skills"

Rating: Neutral (0) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

3. Posted by Jonno, 03/12/2015 8:13

"Lewis has fired the first shot and has holed Nico below the waterline.

"Lewis Hamilton says team-mate Nico Rosberg complains a lot"

Mercedes race to sell cars. Rosberg won't raise the profile of Mercedes anything like Hamilton does. As for the stupid comments we're going to read about Lewis, it's obvious none of the complainers have ever been within a hundred yards of a 'top dog' of any sport. They live to win and nothing else matters. Rosberg hasn't got the will to make that step up. He crumbles under pressure and blames the world for his woes.
"

Rating: Negative (-3) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

4. Posted by Burton, 02/12/2015 22:30

"So is this just self-aggrandisement? "Oh we're pretty good on everything, it's just the drivers that don't get along, other than that..."?"

Rating: Neutral (0) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

5. Posted by Yeyox02, 02/12/2015 21:43

"The relationship between Hamilton and ANY other driver will always be tense because he is a very problematic and troublemaker individual."

Rating: Positive (1) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

6. Posted by GrahamG, 02/12/2015 17:55

"If it had been Williams Frank would have had one (or both) of them out on their ear by now. Hamilton needs to be dropped for his own good, no-one is bigger than the team. He would be ideal for Haas, he could more easily maintain his wished for West Coast lifestyle and he's have plenty of ready made excuses for when he wasn't driving the fastest car. Could you ever see him dragging a team up by its ears like Schumacher and Vettel have done at Ferrari?"

Rating: Neutral (0) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

7. Posted by Spindoctor, 02/12/2015 15:33

"@Ex F1 Official
Nice re-write of history.
I thought Alonso's main problem (apart from being slower than the Rookie) was that he stitched-up Dennis & McLaren with "Spygate". I suspect the $100million fine levied on McLaren didn't help his relationship with the team.....
It can be argued that McLaren has struggled ever since."

Rating: Positive (2) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

8. Posted by Ex F1 Official, 02/12/2015 14:48

"Time for Lewis to go. He has had issues with EVERY tem mates he has had. Alonso could not work with this prima donna either.

Let Lewis be the party animal. Let Nico drive and win."

Rating: Negative (-2) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

9. Posted by Willie, 02/12/2015 14:05

"Get rid of Toto instead. He's no Neubauer."

Rating: Positive (1) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

10. Posted by imejl99, 02/12/2015 13:40

"The biggest weakness of any team is if team can not manage the rivalry of own drivers. "

Rating: Neutral (0) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

11. Posted by mickl, 02/12/2015 11:10

"Basically looking for an excuse to get rid of one for 2017 and make a play for Max Verstappen."

Rating: Negative (-1) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

Wolff: Driver relationship is a Mercedes weakness

LATEST NEWS

RELATED ARTICLES

LATEST IMAGES

POST A COMMENT

Post your comment

READERS COMMENTS

Share this page