Team lay down the law after collision in Belgium but Italian Grand Prix polesitter says it's not him who needs to listen
Friday 19 September 2014 11:46, UK
Lewis Hamilton says he doesn’t need reminding of Mercedes’ instructions to their drivers not to crash into each other in the Italian GP – the polesitter implying that it’s Nico Rosberg who should take heed.
Hamilton ended his team-mate’s run of four straight poles at Monza on Saturday whilst also securing his first since May’s Spanish GP. But with Rosberg completing an all-Mercedes front row, it’s only natural their dust-up at Spa is focusing attentions on the start of Sunday’s race.
Mercedes team bosses laid down the law in a crisis meeting last week, which ended with Rosberg accepting responsibility for their Belgian GP collision and apologising.
Asked after qualifying whether their harsh words will be at the forefront of his mind when the lights go out, Hamilton pointedly replied: “They won’t be ringing in my ears at all.” For his part, Rosberg said: “It’s not changed. Already before the start of the season the message has been clear so there’s no reason to change. It’s the same as always.”
Mercedes have let their drivers race all season and that much remains the case, even as the title battle between Rosberg, who leads Hamilton by 29 points, heats up.
It may have boiled over two weeks but Toto Wolff, Paddy Lowe and Niki Lauda – who also disciplined Rosberg after he recovered to finish second in Belgium, despite being at fault - have made it clear that another such incident will not be tolerated.
“We’ve made it very clear that we want to stick to our philosophy in letting the drivers race- it’s about the Drivers’ Championship, we acknowledge that, that this is the most important championship,” Wolff said on Friday.
“Nevertheless, what we said from the beginning was that there shouldn’t be any contact between their cars and I guess this is valid for us and it is valid for any other team and this is why we re-emphasised that point.”
After the furore which followed what was essentially a racing incident there is, in truth, every expectation that history won’t repeat itself at Monza and that fans will hopefully be treated to a race-long battle between the pair.
Hamilton and Rosberg made repeated references to “the team” after locking out the front row and given their advantage at F1’s fastest track – Mercedes-powered cars occupy the top six grid slots – it seems that maintaining reliability is the priority.
Both Silver Arrows have experienced problems so far this weekend – Hamilton’s car suffering an electrical glitch on Friday while a gearbox problem forced Rosberg to miss final practice – although their drivers seem happy enough going forward.
“It is an area we need to keep working on, also medium term to make sure the car’s working 100 per cent all the time,” Rosberg added. “It is a challenge, it is difficult but we’re getting there. I’m confident for tomorrow.”
Hamilton, who has retired from three races to Rosberg’s one and also suffered setbacks in qualifying, said: “It’s a little bit different for me because it’s happened quite a few times on my side of the garage. But I’m optimistic. I think the guys have rectified the problems we’ve had this weekend."
Speaking to Sky F1, he added: “It’s very difficult to overtake here because you need to have a big advantage to pass people. The start is going to be important, the outside of the track is not as good as the side l am starting so I am hoping I can benefit from that.”
