F1 TITLE FIGHT 2015
ETHERINGTON/LAT
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27
XPB IMAGES
PREVIEW
Relations between
Hamilton and Rosberg
were strained at times
Team-orders spat
in Hungary further
widened the split
XPB IMAGES
his lead upset Rosberg, and continued with
arguments about Rosberg using ‘banned’ engine
settings to try to beat Hamilton next time out
in Spain. The ‘did-he-didn’t-he-drive-off-theroad-deliberately?’ qualifying controversy that
clouded Rosberg’s pole position in Monaco –
and infuriated Hamilton – only increased
tensions further.
Around this point in the season, Hamilton
gave an interview in which he suggested he was
‘hungrier’ to win than his team-mate, because
of their contrasting social backgrounds. This
(rightly or wrongly) helped paint a picture to
the wider public of Hamilton as the tough,
streetwise, underprivileged kid fighting against
the odds to earn his crust at F1’s top table against
the multilingual, Monaco-born Rosberg, who
could have studied at university and enjoys the
trappings of a privileged, tax-haven upbringing.
The fact that they were friends as kids – racing
for the same European kart team – and now
live near each other in Monaco makes no odds.
In terms of public perception of their rivalry
(and thus fans’ enjoyment of it), it helps if they
are cast as different characters, adversarial in
life as well as racing.
Of course, the rivalry in 2014 strained their
personal bond, and their respective relationships
with the team. This is bound to happen when
you are fighting exclusively against one another
for the biggest prize in motor racing. Things
finally came to a head when Hamilton refused a
team order to let Rosberg pass him in Hungary.
Mercedes publicly backed Hamilton’s ‘vigilantism’
(because it felt in retrospect that the order was
unfair), which made Rosberg furious. After a
three-week summer break spent stewing in
his own bubbling broth of anger, Rosberg took
the law into his own hands at Spa and was
subsequently reprimanded by Mercedes for
causing a collision that took Hamilton out of
points-scoring contention and handed race
victory to Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo.
SEASON
Driver rivalry can spill
over into relationships
within the whole team
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MARCH 5 2015 AUTOSPORT.COM 27