“Without warning” – Nico Rosberg criticizes Toto Wolff for 2016 Lewis Hamilton Mechanics Swap

Nico Rosberg is still the last driver to beat Lewis Hamilton in a championship fight. In 2016 he won the world title by narrowly defeating his then teammate Hamilton at Mercedes. But Rosberg said he had to sacrifice a lot of things to win the world title.

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He mentioned that he got hold of a physiologist before the season. He lost paint from his helmet to reduce weight. Interestingly, however, he stated that the biggest change in the 2016 season was having Lewis’ mechanic on his side of the garage.

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There was such a division between the two sides of the garage: Nico Rosberg

As Formula Passion reports, team boss Toto Wolff had changed the mechanics for both sides of the garage before the start of the season. He had done this without informing Rosberg, which made him angry.

“There was such a separation between the two sides of the garage that the mechanics became adversaries and the engineers lived in this climate,” said Nico.

SHANGHAI, CHINA – APRIL 10: Nico Rosberg from Germany and Mercedes GP speaks with Mercedes GP Executive Director Toto Wolff during practice for the Formula 1 Grand Prix of China at the Shanghai International Circuit on April 10, 2015 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Mark Thompson / Getty Images)

“Without warning and without asking, Toto moved my entire team of mechanics into Lewis’ car and all of his crews went to my car for the remainder of the season. All of this happened just before the first race, and it was insane.

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My mechanics, whom I absolutely trust and who are also my friends, were transferred to Lewis’ car and I had enemies working on my car, “explained Rosberg.

The decision to change engineers was also not well received by Lewis. He mentioned that the decision had a psychological impact on the driver.

“The mechanics have no influence on the setup. The biggest effect it can really have on the driver is psychological, but I don’t want to go into that. If something changes when it doesn’t really need to be changed, it can have all sorts of effects, ”said Lewis.

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It would be interesting to hear the real reason Wolff turned the mechanics in 2016.

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