As Mercedes move onto Monza, the next Grand Prix in the calendar after Spa, they move on from the madness which occurred in Belgium. Nico Rosberg crashed into Lewis Hamilton, causing the Brit to retire from the race after thirty-eight laps, meaning he lost a further eighteen points on his title rival and he is currently twenty-nine points adrift.
Tensions had already been running high between the two after the team orders saga which had occurred before the F1 break and the crash alone would’ve been bad enough, but Hamilton then claimed after the race that Rosberg hit him on purpose. Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said that Rosberg was at fault for the incident, and Rosberg was dealt an undisclosed punishment, but there is no question that Hamilton’s and Rosberg’s relationship will be very strained for a long time to come. Last night, Toto Wolff revealed that Mercedes may get rid of one of their two drivers if the two cannot drive safely together, saying that there must be no collisions at Monza on Sunday:
“We would have to take decisions and take the consequences of having a different line-up,” said Wolff.
“If we are not able to manage the two of them following the Mercedes-Benz spirit then we need to admit that,”
“When you are managing a team it is very important to keep it balanced. I would very much like the penalties we have been implementing to stay within the team because it is just not fair on the driver to discuss that in public.
“We have made it very clear this is an unacceptable scenario for us, for both of them. We don’t want this to happen ever again.”
The ongoing teammate battle within Mercedes throughout the season has been one filled with drama and never ending controversy which will surely be remembered by F1 fans for years to come.
As for Monza, if Hamilton and Rosberg are to battle it out for first and second, this is one of the most likely circuits to cause another crash; the three tight chicanes have caused more than a few hairy moments over the years. Aside from that, the low downforce circuit suits Mercedes- powered cars- not that Mercedes have needed to worry about which circuits suit them, such has been their dominance this year- so it seems that once again this Grand Prix will be about which Mercedes will win and whether the Mercedes drivers will get too distracted with one another and let another driver in.
Lewis Hamilton is twenty-nine points behind Nico Rosberg with seven races to go. Though the double points in Yas Marina means that there’ll be all to play for right until the bitter end, every race will see Lewis Hamilton desperate to gain victory more so than ever. Don’t be too surprised if Lewis and Nico have a few more run-ins with each other as this season plays out, particularly at the wonderful circuit of Monza.
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