Mercedes has been seriously considering keeping Lewis Hamilton from racing, team boss Toto Wolff has revealed. The Briton was Nico Rosberg’s team-mate for four years, which caused all sorts of problems behind the scenes.
Wolff was appointed head of Mercedes in January 2013, Hamilton and Rosberg were already at the door.
The Austrian had to stop working while his two drivers vied for the world title and tensions arose the following year.
Hamilton accused Rosberg of deliberately crashing into him at the Belgian Grand Prix, and Wolff had to mess with his two stars.
“It was very difficult because I came to the team as a newcomer to Formula 1 and Nico and Lewis had been in the sport for much longer,” Wolff told the High Performance Podcast.
“Still, I was able to create an environment in which they had to respect the team.
JUST IN: Daniel Ricciardo warns: “Don’t confuse comfort with complacency.”
“Sometimes with an iron fist or an iron grip, and they understood that they couldn’t abandon us, they couldn’t abandon Mercedes.
“In the events of 2014 where I felt there was some selfish behavior, I said that the next time you get near the other car, your teammate, you will think of the Mercedes brand, Individuals in the team: You think of Dieter Zetsche, the CEO of Mercedes.
“This will likely change the way you act. You won’t stick your teammates into the wall.
“And I’ve always made it clear that if this happened regularly and I saw a pattern, I’m not afraid to make someone miss races.”
DO NOT MISS
Hamilton won the first three world titles in Wolff’s tenure before Rosberg took a dramatic crown in 2016.
But even during these exhausting fights, Wolff made it clear who was in control of the team.
“The drivers prefer to drive in a car,” added Wolff. “And you always have to be clear that you are competing in the car if you understand the team game.
“And it’s much more difficult because there are only two drivers on the team and it is not easy to find a replacement and a replacement at that level.
“But I’m ready to sacrifice a race or two to make it clear to all future generations who will drive for Mercedes that this is not going to work.”
Rosberg retired after winning the world title in 2016 and was replaced by Valtteri Bottas, who is fighting for his future this season.
The post Toto Wolff threatened to stop Lewis Hamilton – “There was selfish behavior” | F1 | Sports first appeared on monter-une-startup.Did you miss our previous article...
https://formulaone.news/mercedes/mercedesamg-cars-and-suvs-2021-to-2031-analysis-of-the-automotive-industry
