Apparently Lewis Hamilton is no longer
friends with Nico Rosberg. When they definitively stopped becoming friends is
unclear but there’s a good chance it happened during qualification for the
Monaco Grand Prix. That was when Rosberg’s Mercedes suspiciously went down the
escape road at the Mirabeau corner, before reversing back onto the track and
causing a yellow flag. A yellow flag which ruined any chance Hamilton had of
gaining pole position at a circuit where overtaking is exceptionally difficult.
After Rosberg went on to win the Grand Prix, since then it’s
become clear there is no love lost between the pair of F1 drivers who had been
friends since childhood, but is it really the case? Are they really no longer
friends and plotting to outdo each other with tactics borrowed from the Wacky Races?
Earlier this week Alain Prost was brought in by Mercedes to give advice on how
to avoid a problem similar to that of Prost and Ayrton Senna in the late 80’s. This
rivalry resulted in a number of incidents such as, on separate locations, one
driver deliberately crashing into the other. However, the fact we’re still
talking about that rivalry today shows its interest and entertainment value to
those looking on from the outside. Something Senna and Prost were only too
aware of.
So if Alain was indeed asked how to stop this
rivalry between Hamilton and Rosberg, would he not say, ‘Why would you want to
stop it completely?’. It’s great publicity for Mercedes and F1, particularly in
a season where every race seems decided before the race begins due to Mercedes dominance.
Any rivalry is great for the sport such
as that with Niki Lauda and James Hunt, which has just been made into a film. So
I suspect the whole rivalry situation may be exaggerated as with a couple of
boxers trying to talk up a fight. As long as they don’t do anything silly on track
of course. If it wasn’t for that happening last weekend at Monaco, all we would
be talking about is another ‘boring’ Mercedes one-two in a fairly average race.
So the animosity between Rosburg and Hamilton will still be what is talked about
most in the run-up to the next race in Canada; partly because regarding the
race itself, barring a major upset, it will be another Mercedes one-two. Still,
all said and done, there will be some rivalry between the Mercedes pair beneath
the hype, and you could argue it still makes for a more interesting
championship. Although, don’t be surprised that both drivers will probably be
best buddies again as soon as this year’s title race is decided
