07/12/2015
NEWS STORY
Toto Wolff has reiterated his warning that continued disharmony between his drivers will not be tolerated.
Last week, the Austrian admitted that the bad feeling between the two is now directly impacting the team, thereby threatening its ability to continue winning.
Having warned that were it to continue one of the drivers would be shown the door, last night he reiterated the threat.
"It is important to keep the spirit within the team and there is a bunch of very competent people," he said at an awards ceremony in London. "Competition between Nico and Lewis got very fierce and very competitive at times, and it is understandable because they are fighting in a car that is capable of winning a championship against each other. The guy in the other car cannot be your friend.
"But we need to be careful that it doesn't spill over on both sides of the garage," he warned. "We have seen at teams in the past that there is a competition that has been created that is not good for the dynamics within the team, and this is what I try to re-emphasise. I will have a close look at it.
"They have known each other a long time and sometimes we tend to over-interpret the animosities going on," he admitted. "They have known each other since they were eight years old, they have been on holidays and I think that is the good situation we are facing. But if it becomes detrimental to the team, it would mean we would not maintain the long term set-up with the drivers."
Rosberg's current contract ends at the end of next season, whilst Hamilton's new contract, signed earlier this year, has him at the team until the end of 2018.