Hamilton And Rosberg Might Split Up Because They Can't Play Nicely

The tension between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg at Mercedes has continued to increase over the last two F1 seasons. Now the head of motorsport at Mercedes, Toto Wolff, has warned that there could be a change in driver line-up if it continues.

Battling for the world championship has clearly taken its toll on Hamilton and Rosberg’s relationship, particularly with the former winning both times, numerous crashes, arguments and frustrating strategy calls.

Wolff says the tense atmosphere between the two is the biggest weakness at Mercedes and it would consider replacing either Hamilton or Rosberg if the rocky relationship starts to hurt the team.

Speaking to Motorsport.com after the conclusion of the 2015 season, he said:

“We struggle sometimes in winning races on Sunday and having always one [driver] upset. And this spills over into the team. It is something that needs to stop. We took the decision of having two evenly matched drivers in order to make the team progress faster and better. It was a very conscious decision three years ago.

“Going forward, we will consider if it is the best set-up for the team. Personality and character within the team is a crucial ingredient for the team success. If we feel that it is not aligned with the general consensus, spirit and philosophy within the team, we might consider that when we take a decision, in terms of the driver line-up going forward.”

Mercedes has dominated the first two years of F1’s new V6 Turbo era but Wolff feels the team’s biggest weakness is the driver tension:

“There is lots going on behind closed doors. I feel that the team is stronger than ever. We are having huge unity within the team, but the difficult relationship of the drivers is one of our weaknesses. And that is not good.

“If I were to analyse what are the biggest strengths and the biggest weakness of the team, I would say the biggest strength is the quality and the characters of the personalities within the team. The biggest weakness is the dynamic of the relationship between the drivers – and sometimes between the drivers and the team.”

It’ll be interesting to see if Wolff goes through with the divorce.