Mercedes want Hamilton, Rosberg to retain approach
Winning constructors’ championship changes nothing, says team boss Wolff
KARACHI:
Having achieved their goal of securing the constructors’ championship for the current season, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff wants Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg to remain cordial for the remaining races, according to ESPN.
Concerned officials had stressed the importance of securing the best result for the team after the pair's collision at the Belgian Grand Prix, which led to Hamilton's retirement.
But in Russia, Mercedes secured the constructors' crown and to add to that, Hamilton's gap of 92 points over third-placed Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull with 100 available from the final races means the drivers' crown looks certain to end up at Mercedes.
Even though after the overall achievement, the drivers’ title may seemingly appear less important now, Wolff says he would rather not see it decided by a collision similar to the one at Spa.
"I don't think we are going to change something in our approach because we want them to race each other respectfully," said Wolff.
"We saw that in Russia, it was Rosberg's corner and he just missed the braking on the dirty line and Hamilton was very coldblooded, and that was very good. So it won’t change the approach. We don't want it to end in some kind of circumstance with events on the track.
"Of course 92 points means Ricciardo would need to win all three remaining races with Hamilton failing to score eight points. Even though I am a pessimist, that would be a 'black swan, black swan, black swan' event!"
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Having achieved their goal of securing the constructors’ championship for the current season, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff wants Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg to remain cordial for the remaining races, according to ESPN.
Concerned officials had stressed the importance of securing the best result for the team after the pair's collision at the Belgian Grand Prix, which led to Hamilton's retirement.
But in Russia, Mercedes secured the constructors' crown and to add to that, Hamilton's gap of 92 points over third-placed Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull with 100 available from the final races means the drivers' crown looks certain to end up at Mercedes.
Even though after the overall achievement, the drivers’ title may seemingly appear less important now, Wolff says he would rather not see it decided by a collision similar to the one at Spa.
"I don't think we are going to change something in our approach because we want them to race each other respectfully," said Wolff.
"We saw that in Russia, it was Rosberg's corner and he just missed the braking on the dirty line and Hamilton was very coldblooded, and that was very good. So it won’t change the approach. We don't want it to end in some kind of circumstance with events on the track.
"Of course 92 points means Ricciardo would need to win all three remaining races with Hamilton failing to score eight points. Even though I am a pessimist, that would be a 'black swan, black swan, black swan' event!"
Like Sports on Facebook, follow @ETribuneSports on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.