Mercedes don't want another Lewis Hamilton-Nico Rosberg rivalry

Mercedes

Mercedes don't want another Hamilton-Rosberg rivalry

The Brit is a lot friendlier with Valtteri Bottas.

Martin Macdonald

Tuesday 30 April 2019 10:49

Mercedes are hoping to avoid a “sharp” rivaly developing between Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas this season with the team-mates looking like the main title contenders. In 2016, the Brit was involved in a fierce partnership with Nico Rosberg with both drivers going for the championship.

The Silver Arrows have won every single race so far in the 2019 seson with record-breaking 1-2s, and Bottas leads Hamilton by a single point in the driver rankings.

How Hamilton-Bottas Baku battle panicked RussellRead more

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Sebastian Vettel, the highest scoring non-Mercedes driver, is a full 35 points adrift.

"It's too early to say that only one other person is in the world championship," said Hamilton.

The reigning world champion then said he was "too friendly" to Bottas in the fight for turn one, and indicated he hopes the fight stays that way.

"Some of my teammates have not kept to agreements," Hamilton charged, apparently referring to Nico Rosberg.

Toto Wolff, the Mercedes boss, certainly hopes the Hamilton-Bottas rivalry does not turn into another Hamilton-Rosberg type situation.

The Mercedes drivers denied they had been ordered to hold position at the end of the Baku race, but Wolff was spotted pressing the radio button at a crucial moment.

"No, there was no team order," Wolff insisted.

"If I had talked to the drivers, it's audible to everyone," he explained. "I pressed the button for the internal radio.

"I rarely speak directly to the drivers, because I know that sometimes I get a bit too emotional.

"What the TV viewers saw was when I consulted with our strategists about Vettel and whether we could afford to reduce our performance."

But there is no doubt that with Bottas leading the world championship, the situation is at least similar to when Hamilton and Rosberg's relationship completely broke down.

"We need to remember that Vettel or Leclerc can very quickly return to the fight, so we must avoid the sharpness that was in the relationship between Lewis and Nico," Wolff said.

"We are very fortunate that they have a good relationship, but we need to be careful. We've seen relationships break down in the past."