Wolff reiterates strong stance with Merc drivers

Mercedes are willing to drop either Triple F1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton or team-mate Nico Rosberg.

Toto Wolff, team boss of the double Formula One constructors champions has reiterated that his team would 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.

However the camp is far from harmonious, the two drivers, who were once friends whilst growing up are now fierce rivals and it would appear that this has caused frictions within the team itself.

The situation has been put under the spotlight by Wolff who has now taken it upon himself to mention the situation both in the media and on stage at the Autosport Awards.

Mentioning it once just to grab the attention of the drivers to make them think about it over the winter, but saying it twice in the public domain? Wolff clearly wants a response from both Hamilton and Rosberg.

‘It is important to keep the spirit within the team and there is a bunch of very competent people, Competition between Nico and Lewis got very fierce and very competitive at times, and it is understandable because they are fighting in a car that is capable of winning a championship against each other. The guy in the other car cannot be your friend.

‘But we need to be careful that it doesn’t spill over on both sides of the garage. We have seen at teams in the past that there is a competition that has been created that is not good for the dynamics within the team, and this is what I try to re-emphasise. I will have a close look at it.’

‘The lucky situation is that they have known each other a long time and sometimes we tend to over-interpret the animosities going on, They have known each other since they were eight years old, they have been on holidays and I think that is the good situation we are facing. But if it becomes detrimental to the team, it would mean we would not maintain the long term set-up with the drivers.’

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.