Niki Lauda: There is more respect between Hamilton and Rosberg

For Niki Lauda, the relationship between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg for the 2015 season will be more relaxed; according to the triple Austrian world champion, there will be much more respect between the two Mercedes team drivers.

The 2014 season was marked by various sporting disputes between Hamilton and Rosberg. Notably, their clash at the Monaco Grand Prix where Nico Rosberg aborted his lap causing a yellow flag, preventing Lewis Hamilton from securing a possible pole position. The decisive moment of their rivalry occurred in Belgium where Nico Rosberg launched an attack on Lewis Hamilton after two laps of racing. The latter was forced to retire later in the Grand Prix due to the damage sustained from the collision with his teammate. According to Niki Lauda, the incidents that occurred during the season helped strengthen their relationship.

« When you overcome all these events that have happened. That one driver has won the championship and not the other, that there have been attacks from one, but not the other, then all this will be easier because they respect each other on their performance level, » said Lauda, quoted by Autosport.

After the event in Belgium, Mercedes had requested that their two drivers not communicate. However, after the Spa episode, Lauda explained that the determining factor that allowed the two men to regain healthy relations was when Nico Rosberg came to congratulate Lewis Hamilton after the GP in Abu Dhabi, where the Briton was crowned at the expense of the German: Spa was the peak. Then, we kept control, all together. Not by telling them what to do, but they themselves realized what they had to do. From that moment on, everything worked well, and the result was incredible. They competed against each other and congratulated and commended each other.

According to the former Ferrari driver, Lewis Hamilton would not have gained a definitive advantage by winning the title against Nico Rosberg. According to him, Nico Rosberg will come back stronger in 2015: « This is exactly what we need because Nico will come back to fight and Nico has great potential. There is still something to improve in his speed, performance, and the technical inputs he provides. It will be fun between them again. I hope no one else will interfere. »

Lauda also acknowledged that he himself never really liked his teammates: “I never liked Prost, I never liked Regazzoni, I never liked Watson when it came to racing, so it’s normal. However, there is a certain respect for each other.”

Proof of Niki Lauda’s statements, Nico Rosberg wished Lewis Hamilton a happy birthday on Twitter, the latter having celebrated his 30th birthday on Wednesday: « #HappyBirthdayLewis – 30!! Have a great celebration! This day is good for me. You’re old now, so hopefully, it will be easier for me this year:-) »