Mercedes could dump Hamilton or Rosberg

Double Formula One constructors champions Mercedes could consider changing their driver line-up if the relationship between their pilots worsens further.

The German manufacturer have dominated the sport since the introduction of the new V6 Turbo-Hybrid engines were introduced for the 2014 season.

Mercedes have taken back-to-back constructors titles, whilst British driver Lewis Hamilton has won back-to-back Formula One World Championships.

Team-mate Nico Rosberg has been Hamilton’s closest challenger over the two years and in fleeting spells has often been the better of the two, with the ending of the 2015 campaign seeing Rosberg for the first time in his career take three consecutive victories.

But the camp is far from harmonious, the two drivers, who were once friends whilst growing up are now fierce rivals.

Hamilton declared that Rosberg was not his friend during the 2014 championship season and it appears the pair are barely on speaking terms.

It has become clear that when Lewis Hamilton is on top Nico Rosberg is complaining and vice-versa and according to Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff it has become the teams main weakness.

‘We struggle sometimes in winning races on Sunday and having always one upset, And this spills over into the team. It is something that needs to stop.’ he told Motorsport.com.

‘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.’

When asked to clarify if that meant changing the current driver line-up or having a clear number one and number two driver Wolff added: ‘I think it is important to have talented and fast drivers in the car. But we want to work with nice guys.’

Nico Rosberg’s current contract runs until the end of the 2016 Formula One World Championship season, whilst triple F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton’s deal runs until the end of 2018.

Wolff concluded: ‘The biggest weakness [within Mercedes] is the dynamic of the relationship between the drivers ? and sometimes between the drivers and the team.’