Mercedes: Hamilton plays the calming card with Rosberg
The English driver claims to have spoken with his teammate and World Championship rival following the recent events of the Monaco Grand Prix, and they still seem to be friends.
The overwhelming dominance of the two Mercedes drivers since the lights went out at the Australian Grand Prix seems to be gradually undermining their long-standing friendship, formed during their karting days when they were teammates. Their relationship, which became strained starting from the Spanish Grand Prix, where Hamilton used an aggressive engine configuration to fend off Rosberg’s threat, has clearly taken a difficult turn since last week.
As a reminder, the German secured a highly controversial pole position last Saturday by causing a yellow flag after his unexpected visit to the escape road on the descent to Mirabeau at the very end of Q3, thereby preventing the rest of the field from improving their times, much to the dismay of the Englishman.
Hamilton did not hide his frustration for the rest of the weekend, specifically insinuating that Rosberg had deliberately caused the incident. Refusing to shake his hand during the podium ceremony, he stated to journalists in the post-race interview area: “Nico and I are not friends, we are teammates.” These reactions led to criticism from his team’s management, notably a stern reprimand from Niki Lauda.
Thus, Lewis Hamilton spoke yesterday afternoon on social media, supported by a photo illustrating their supposed friendship: « We have been friends for a long time and, as with every friend, we have ups and downs in our relationship. Today [yesterday], we talked and everything is fine, we are still friends. »
So, is it a PR stunt demanded by the team management or a genuine intention to bury the hatchet with his garage neighbor? We’ll find out in a week in North America at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montreal, for the Canadian Grand Prix.
