Breaking news
Formula 1
Driver 'crash' discussed at Mercedes party
Allowing Hamilton and Rosberg to go at it runs the risk of an Ayrton Senna versus Alain Prost-style personality collision.
GMM
Edited: May 22, 2014, 7:41 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
May 22 (GMM) A Mercedes 'get-together' did not go unnoticed in the Monaco harbour on Wednesday.
The scene was former F1 driver Gerhard Berger's luxury boat, but on board were Mercedes team chairman Niki Lauda, fellow bosses Paddy Lowe and Toto Wolff, and drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.
So far in 2014, the silver-clad party has been utterly dominant.
Lauda said the Monaco get-together was at his expense.
"This is my thank you for the great performance of the team so far," Auto Motor und Sport quotes the triple world champion as saying.
But it is also believed Lauda took the time to assure Hamilton and Rosberg that they can continue to go wheel-to-wheel against one another at the Grands Prix.
At the same time, the F1 legend knows all too well that "Eventually it will go wrong".
"If the two continue to do their races ahead of the rest of the field, the probability of a crash increases," Lauda acknowledged.
Mercedes is treading a fine line, between ensuring it capitalises on its massive investments and subsequent dominance, and not turning off bored fans.
But allowing Hamilton and Rosberg to go at it runs the risk of an Ayrton Senna versus Alain Prost-style personality collision.
Indeed, recent comments by Hamilton have reminded some of something Prost said at the height of the Senna rivalry: that the great Brazilian didn't just want to beat him, that he wanted to "humiliate" the Frenchman as well.
And Hamilton has told F1's official website that, because of his upbringing, he is "hungrier" for success than Rosberg.
"I come from a not-great place in Stevenage and lived on a couch in my dad's apartment," he said.
"Nico grew up in Monaco with jets and hotels and boats and all these kind of things -- so the hunger is different," Hamilton added.
And when asked what his ideal result on Sunday would be, he admitted: "Ha, finishing first, Fernando finishing second and Sebastian finishing third."
When asked about the recent trend of their on and off-track rivalry, Rosberg said on Wednesday: "I don't know what he (Hamilton) said so I'm not going to comment."
What is more open for comment is the precise extent of Mercedes' dominance in 2014. Hamilton argues that his duel with Rosberg is more exciting than Sebastian Vettel's dominance over the past few years.
"The good thing is that unlike Sebastian, who was leading by 30-40 seconds each race, it's not the case here, I'm racing my teammate," he said.
"So I actually do have competition and I'm grateful for that."
But Vettel insists that Red Bull's gap over the field was never as great as the advantage currently enjoyed by the silver cars.
"We have never been in that situation," he said.
"We are five races in and I don't think we ever started a season with five wins," said Vettel.
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Maldonado denies Venezuelan backing to end
Next article Kolles not surprised Ricciardo beating Vettel
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
GMM
The season is still very long - Rosberg
Formula 1
Formula 1
The season is still very long - Rosberg
Jules Bianchi's father speaks of family's continued hopes
Formula 1
Formula 1
Jules Bianchi's father speaks of family's continued hopes
Sauber under no illusions about constructors' position
Formula 1
Formula 1
Chinese GP
Sauber under no illusions about constructors' position
More from
Lewis Hamilton
The 'difference' between Kimi Antonelli's F1 title and Lewis Hamilton's according to Toto Wolff
Formula 1
Formula 1
Mexican GP
13 h
The 'difference' between Kimi Antonelli's F1 title and Lewis Hamilton's according to Toto Wolff
Lewis Hamilton slams Charles Leclerc for "do or die" attitude after Mexico GP clash
Formula 1
Formula 1
Mexican GP
Lewis Hamilton slams Charles Leclerc for "do or die" attitude after Mexico GP clash
More from
Mercedes
Marco Antonelli: "I saw the champion in Kimi after his Australia crash"
Formula 1
Formula 1
Mexican GP
18 h
Marco Antonelli: "I saw the champion in Kimi after his Australia crash"
Kimi Antonelli labels the "turning point" in F1 title-winning season
Formula 1
Formula 1
Mexican GP
22 h
Kimi Antonelli labels the "turning point" in F1 title-winning season
Latest news
NASCAR VP explains Carson Hocevar, Josh Berry penalties
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Martinsville II
9 h
NASCAR VP explains Carson Hocevar, Josh Berry penalties
Colton Herta to run Cadillac FP1 in Brazil as FIA superlicence quest continues
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Mexican GP
9 h
Colton Herta to run Cadillac FP1 in Brazil as FIA superlicence quest continues
NASCAR issues penalties to Carson Hocevar and Josh Berry for Martinsville brake-checks
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Martinsville II
11 h
NASCAR issues penalties to Carson Hocevar and Josh Berry for Martinsville brake-checks
NASCAR making progress with short track show but drivers still want more
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Martinsville II
11 h
NASCAR making progress with short track show but drivers still want more
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe