\u2018Proper racing\u2019: Why Max is lining up in one of motorsport\u2019s most ferocious events<\/a><\/p>\nSTUTTGART, GERMANY – MARCH 11: Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton had a tumultuous relationship,Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
Rosberg, however, landed at a Williams team at the beginning of a long decline and would toil with increasingly uncompetitive machinery until getting the call-up to Mercedes in 2010 as part of an all-German line-up with Michael Schumacher.<\/p>\n
Mercedes wasn\u2019t yet a consistent force in Formula 1, but Rosberg had no trouble dispatching Schumacher during their three seasons together, including by taking his maiden victory in 2012, establishing his credentials.<\/p>\n
Schumacher retired from Formula 1 for a second time at the end of 2012. Mercedes swooped on Hamilton, adrift at McLaren, to reunite the childhood friends.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a really good period of time in my career and in my life [during karting], and I look forward to making some more great memories.\u201d Hamilton said at the time.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have never laughed so much than when we were racing together. Nico was kicking everyone\u2019s butt at that time. We had some great races together and built a great relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n
But the good times wouldn\u2019t last.<\/p>\n
DETERIORATION<\/p>\n
Mercedes was all-in on the 2014 engine changes, and when its first V6 turbo-hybrid power unit proved far better than the rest, it was clear both titles were mere formalities.<\/p>\n
The only question was whether Hamilton or Rosberg would win the drivers championship \u2014 and each knew they had to beat the other to win it.<\/p>\n
That sort of pressure changes a relationship.<\/p>\n
The seeds of distrust were sown almost immediately.<\/p>\n
Their duel at the 2014 Bahrain Grand Prix was memorable for its close racing, but it was later revealed that Rosberg had used banned engine modes in a bid to catch Hamilton in the final laps.<\/p>\n
Hamilton later gave Rosberg a taste of his own medicine at the Spanish Grand Prix, two races later, using the same unauthorised engine modes to hold off a fast-charging German in the final laps.<\/p>\n
Perhaps that could have equalled the ledger, but tensions flared spectacularly and trust broke down irrevocably at the next race in Monaco.<\/p>\n
Rosberg had provisional pole after the first laps of Q3 when he locked his front-right tyre at Mirabeau and took to the escape road on his final flying lap.<\/p>\n
It triggered yellow flags at the corner, which forced Hamilton to abandon his last shot at pole.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was very good of him \u2014 very good,\u201d Hamilton said, the implication clear: he believed Rosberg had deliberately gone off to secure pole.<\/p>\n
Trust between the two drivers broke down over their four seasons togetherSource: AFP<\/p>\n
The stewards cleared Rosberg, but Hamilton\u2019s mind was set.<\/p>\n
It was perhaps unsurprising, therefore, that the Briton ignored team orders to let Rosberg through at the Hungarian Grand Prix later that season. Only Rosberg had been capable of winning that race for Mercedes; instead he finished fourth behind Hamilton in third.<\/p>\n
That certainly played a role in their first contact flashpoint at the following Belgian Grand Prix.<\/p>\n
Rosberg started from pole but was beaten easily by Hamilton into the first turn, forcing him to launch and overtake to take back the lead.<\/p>\n
He slipstreamed into Les Combes, braking late enough to get his nose halfway along Hamilton\u2019s outside as they tipped right into the corner.<\/p>\n
Hamilton assumed the normal racing line, challenging Rosberg to yield. At first it looked as though he would, but then he recommitted to his line.<\/p>\n
His front wing touched Hamilton\u2019s rear-left tyre causing a puncture that put the Briton out of the race. Rosberg pitted for a new nose and finished second, stretching his point lead.<\/p>\n
The German later took responsibility for making a mistake, but Hamilton sensationally claimed afterwards that his teammate had admitted to crashing on purpose to \u201cprove a point\u201d after Hungary.<\/p>\n
Mercedes said it disciplined Rosberg for the incident, though it never revealed what punished had been levied against him.<\/p>\n
The flashpoint triggered a powerful comeback for Hamilton, who won the next five races in succession to turn what had been a 29-point deficit into a 17-point lead heading into the Abu Dhabi finale. A bizarre one-off double points rule meant victory for Rosberg with Hamilton third or lower would be enough to win the title, but a hybrid failure meant the German crawled home in scoreless 14th.<\/p>\n
Antonelli does it AGAIN in Miami | 03:01<\/p>\n
DETONATION<\/p>\n
Hamilton was in superlative form in 2015 such that Rosberg never really stood a chance, but they found room for one flashpoint at the United States Grand Prix, where Hamilton could seal his third world title with three rounds remaining if he won the race.<\/p>\n
Rosberg started from pole, but Hamilton shoved him wide at the first turn to take the lead. Though Rosberg would eventually resume first place in an intriguing strategic race, a mistake on lap 48 of 56 handed victory and the title to his teammate.<\/p>\n
In the cool-down room, Hamilton threw the second-place-getter cap to Rosberg, triggering a moody throwback that seemed to encapsulate their relationship for the year.<\/p>\n
Rosberg described the first-turn move as \u201cone step too far\u201d. He won the last three races in a row, signalling an attitude and dynamic shift that lasted through the opening phase of 2016, when he won the first four grands prix to take a 43-point lead into the fateful Spanish Grand Prix.<\/p>\n
It was exactly 10 years and four days ago today that Hamilton started on pole but Rosberg got the better start to take the lead into the first turn.<\/p>\n
Out of turn 3, however, Rosberg\u2019s acceleration slowed owing to an incorrect engine map setting. Hamilton closed in fast and attempted to pass on the right, only for Rosberg to shut the door.<\/p>\n
Rather than back out, Hamilton took to the grass, where he spun out of control and into the sister Mercedes, crashing both out of the race.<\/p>\n
Each driver blamed the other, but the mood inside Mercedes was beyond blame. Team boss Toto Wolff was apoplectic \u2014 so much so, in fact, that he sacked them.<\/p>\n
MONTMELO, SPAIN – MAY 15: The car of Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes GP at the side of the track, behind is the car of Nico Rosberg of Germany and Mercedes GP after they crashed together during the Spanish Formula One Grand Prix in 2016Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cI called my chief executive officer, Dieter Zetsche, in Mercedes, and said, \u2018Listen, you need to sign something\u2019. And he called me back and said, \u2018You\u2019re making both drivers redundant\u2019. And I said, \u2018Yeah, because otherwise they won\u2019t understand how important it is to the interest of the brand and the team above their own\u2019,\u201d he revealed to the Athletic earlier this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was their personal rivalry that took over. And from a healthy competition, it went to a rivalry and it became animosity. And that\u2019s just not something I would allow in the organisation, and based on these factors, we sent them an email and said, \u2018At the moment, you\u2019re not part of the team\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cI said [to them], \u2018My problem is that I don\u2019t know whose fault it was\u2019 \u2026 and so what I said to them is that, if it happens again, one has to go, and I may make a mistake. I may send the wrong one away.\u201d<\/p>\n
But there was more debris just four races later, at the Austrian Grand Prix. Rosberg was defending the lead on the final lap when Hamilton got a great launch out of the first turn to draw alongside the sister car on the outside of turn 3.<\/p>\n
Rosberg, determined to win back some title momentum, went straight in a bid to carry Hamilton off the road. Instead he caused a crash.<\/p>\n
Hamilton continued undamaged to win the race, but Rosberg limped home fourth with a missing front wing and a penalty for instigating the incident.<\/p>\n
Wolff memorably called the clash \u201cbrainless\u201d and threatened to ban his drivers from racing each other if that\u2019s what it took to prevent them from colliding.<\/p>\n
Perhaps mercifully for him, their rivalry was muted by big swings in momentum, first to Hamilton, who won four times in a row, and then to Rosberg, who won four from five to take a 33-point lead into the final four rounds \u2014 enough to finish second to Hamilton at every remaining race without losing his advantage.<\/p>\n
Hamilton reduced the margin to 12 points for the Abu Dhabi decider, where he infamously backed up his teammate in the hope that the chasing field would catch and demote the German down the field to secure the championship \u2014 despite calls from his team to speed up.<\/p>\n
But Rosberg absorbed the pressure from the fast-finished Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen behind him to finish second and secure his maiden world title.<\/p>\n
He announced his retirement five days later, bringing three years of tension and aggravation to an end.<\/p>\n
Wolff hired the easygoing Valtteri Bottas as his replacement, and though the Finn never quite filled Rosberg\u2019s shoes as a championship contender, regular victories were more than enough to ease Mercedes to five more constructors titles while Hamilton slammed on another four drivers crowns.<\/p>\n
D\u00c9J\u00c0 VU?<\/p>\n
Mercedes has been a team of relative tranquillity since the Hamilton-Rosberg rivalry ended, but in 2026 the ingredients for a blow-up have returned.<\/p>\n
Mercedes once again has a handy advantage at the head of the field, and both drivers are in the mix for the championship.<\/p>\n
But there are some clear differences in context.<\/p>\n
Unlike the case with Hamilton and Rosberg, both Antonelli and Russell are home-grown Mercedes stars who owe their careers to the Silver Arrows. The so-called \u2018rules of engagement\u2019 laying down how Mercedes drivers are expected to behave are part of their core DNA.<\/p>\n
Russell and Antonelli are also coming at this season from different stages of their career and without any real history that could become animus. Hamilton and Rosberg, on the other hand, had been compared for their entire racing lives and resultantly had personal scores to settle.<\/p>\n
McLaren also proved last year that it\u2019s possible to suppress the worst driver instincts for an entire championship campaign, having made it through Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri\u2019s title battle without a major flashpoint.<\/p>\n
Could it be dejav for MercedesSource: Getty Images<\/p>\n
While it wasn\u2019t without its controversies, it was proof it could be done with two evenly matched drivers \u2014 crucial authority-giving evidence that was lacking in 2014\u201316.<\/p>\n
Perhaps most important, however, is that Toto Wolff has been here before, whereas he came to Hamilton-Rosberg fresh.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe oddity in Formula 1 is that the two teammates are also the biggest competitors,\u201d Wolff said earlier this year, per the F1 website.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are certain values that we stand for in the team. The team is always bigger than the drivers.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving the opportunity to race to be one of the few selected racers for Mercedes also comes with a responsibility.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe moment the driver feels like this is all about him, that\u2019s not the mindset that we would ever allow, accept, in the team \u2014 and we\u2019ve done that in the past.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would rather have only one car driving if that wasn\u2019t clear.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I think it will never come to that point because our drivers, they\u2019ve been so long in the Mercedes family that they are part of that mindset and this philosophical approach and the legacy that they represent.\u201d<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s easier said than done.<\/p>\n
Hamilton and Rosberg knew what was expected of them but found ways to collide anyway.<\/p>\n
Emotions aren\u2019t easily tamed when you\u2019re rocketing towards your title rival at 300 kilometres per hour.<\/p>\n
Mercedes has been here before. It knows the warning signs.<\/p>\n
But it could be powerless to stop it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s been a decade since Mercedes last had two drivers in the championship fight, but the scars have…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":679712,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[573],"tags":[944,40760,327613,2095,12295,213398,1724,64,63,40761,327614,327601,106485,137627,21752,327606,5175,82614,16210,327602,327610,118848,21779,327607,263468,243352,281167,2057,817,86017,36242,813,816,75747,3875,5717,14211,327599,313608,68537,31296,159452,825,844,327617,927,849,2041,2067,327618,67128,327612,327603,127081,78374,260439,327615,327621,327600,327620,327619,851,327608,24579,3595,2020,85,44511,327616,327605,18240,18508,18911,327604,230619,327611,2614,248751,12000,2062,2753,327609],"class_list":["post-679711","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-abu-dhabi","tag-alain-prost","tag-all-german-line-up","tag-america","tag-andrea-kimi-antonelli","tag-anthony-hamilton","tag-asia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-ayrton-senna","tag-baden-wurttemberg","tag-banned-engine-modes","tag-championship-campaign","tag-championship-contender","tag-championship-fight","tag-chasing-field","tag-chief-executive-officer","tag-childhood-friends","tag-constructors-titles","tag-crucial-authority-giving-evidence","tag-dieter-zetsche","tag-driver-program","tag-drivers-championship","tag-drivers-crowns","tag-engine-changes","tag-engine-modes","tag-escape-road","tag-europe","tag-f1","tag-final-flying-lap","tag-final-laps","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-front-wing","tag-george-russell","tag-germany","tag-grands-prix","tag-intrateam-rivalry","tag-italian-wonderkid","tag-lead-heading","tag-maiden-victory","tag-maiden-world-title","tag-max-verstappen","tag-michael-schumacher","tag-missing-front-wing","tag-monaco","tag-nico-rosberg","tag-north-america","tag-northern-america","tag-personal-rivalry","tag-point-lead","tag-points-rule","tag-preseason-favourite","tag-provisional-pole","tag-race-victory","tag-racing-line","tag-racing-lives","tag-real-history","tag-regular-victories","tag-relative-tranquillity","tag-rental-van","tag-sebastian-vettel","tag-second-place-getter-cap","tag-sister-car","tag-southern-europe","tag-spain","tag-sports","tag-stuttgart","tag-superlative-form","tag-teammate-teenager-karting","tag-ticking-time-bomb","tag-title-contention","tag-title-momentum","tag-title-wilderness","tag-turbo-hybrid-power-unit","tag-unauthorised-engine-modes","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-warning-signs","tag-western-asia","tag-western-europe","tag-world-champion","tag-worst-driver-instincts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/679711","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=679711"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/679711\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/679712"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=679711"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=679711"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=679711"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}