Mercedes had quite a disappointing outing at the Qatar GP after both of their drivers collided with each other on the opening lap. Following this, Nico Rosberg, who has experience being Hamilton’s teammate as well as a driver under Toto Wolff, revealed on the Sky Sports F1 Podcast, an important piece of advice that Alain Prost once gave Wolff regarding handling internal driver conflicts.
Rosberg was part of the Mercedes unit from 2010 up until 2016, before retiring from the sport altogether. In his last three seasons with the team, Rosberg got involved in a very heated rivalry with teammate Lewis Hamilton.
Therefore, Rosberg is someone who has quite a lot of knowledge regarding how Wolff handles the relationship between teammates at Mercedes. However, Wolff was notably absent from the race due a knee surgery, and things got heated between Hamilton and Russell in his absence.
Nico Rosberg believes Toto Wolff is the right person to handle teammate rivalries
Rosberg made an appearance in the latest episode of the Sky Sports F1 Podcast where he answered questions from the fans regarding the Qatar GP. The German former World Champion spoke extensively about the dynamics at Mercedes especially after the first lap incident between Hamilton and Russell.
Rosberg explained that Wolff is the best person to neutralize the situation at the moment and the best thing he can do right is to take a neutral stance. Rosberg explained, “That is advice that Alain Prost gave him in our time. He said: Toto, the most important thing is that you never take sides between drivers and remain neutral. Once you pick a side, things get out of hand.”
Rosberg also mentioned that Wolff has a lot of experience working with top drivers and therefore knows how to handle situations like these. “He is the only one with the authority and respect to handle this,” added Rosberg.
Toto Wolff wouldn’t want another Hamilton-Rosberg situation
George Russell has shown quite a lot of improvement throughout his stint at Mercedes. He managed to outperform Hamilton during his debut season, also recording the only victory for Mercedes throughout the season.
While Hamilton has managed to get the upper hand on his young teammate this season, Russell is not one to give up easily. Therefore, things could get quite a bit feisty between the two Brits, leading to more teammate battles.
It is up to Wolff to make sure that things do not spill over and Mercedes don’t end up with yet another Hamilton-Rosberg situation.
