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    •  November 28, 2016

    Mercedes to give Order to Rosberg and Hamilton Chaos in 2017

    November 28, 2016
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    Ryan Ashenhurst
    Contributor
    Ryan Ashenhurst
    Contributor
    Author Signature

    Rosberg’s Championship-winning weekend was tainted by a split in views on Hamilton’s management of the race, prompting team boss Toto Wolff to assure fans that the rivalry between the pair will be played down for 2017.

    Hamilton was within the rules in the closing stages of the race as he backed Nico Rosberg into Vettel, who was on a charge and Max Verstappen, who you wouldn’t bet against making a move even if he was on the bones of his tyres.

    The deliberate slower pace Hamilton was running has riled some and Toto Wolff didn’t like that the Brit ignored the team’s request to pick up the pace. He said,

    “It’s very simple: anarchy does not work in any team and in any company. A precedent has been set. Undermining a structure in public means you are putting yourself before the team.”

    Maybe we want to give them more freedom next year, or go with the harsher side where we feel the values were not respected. I am not sure yet where my finger is going to point or the needle is going to go.”

    – Toto Wolff

    Hamilton was inviting Rosberg to overtake, but the German remained in 2nd and endured massive pressure from Vettel. In the context of the significance of this weekend, it’s difficult to determine why Hamilton was given the order to speed up in the first place. He was within the rules to control the pace, but Mercedes would have seen the pace of Vettel on the Supersofts and felt the race win was under threat. Nonetheless, Rosberg should have taken matters into his own hands and challenged the slowing Brit for victory.

    The worst case scenario there would have been a Mercedes collision and nobody could point the finger at Rosberg had this happened.

    A poor advert for sportsmanship in general came after the race with Rosberg in the ecstasy of winning the title, Hamilton barely acknowledged him. There’s the defeat he has to deal with, but the fact that the relationship between them took center stage again after another year of complete success for the team is becoming grating. Their lack of relationship fills the papers where the team’s overall success takes a backseat.

    What happen’s next year should Red Bull turn up and be on par with the Silver Arrows? Look at how their driver’s operate and you’ll see a deficit of togetherness over at the Mercedes garage.

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