Mercedes yesterday poked fun at suggestions they had rigged Lewis Hamilton’s victory over team-mate and title rival Nico Rosberg in Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix.
The Brackley-based team tweeted a picture of flying pigs with the attached message: “BREAKING NEWS: Dramatic scenes in the skies over Brackley as #NR6 [Rosberg] hands #ItalianGP victory to #F1 WDC rival #LH44 [Hamilton].”
The key moment in the race came on lap 29 of 53 as Rosberg, clearly feeling Hamilton’s presence behind him, braked hard but too late to stop himself going straight through the first chicane at the end of Monza’s main straightaway, allowing Hamilton to pass him easily. The Briton then held on to the lead and won the 28th title of his career.
Mercedes executive director Toto Wolff denied that team orders were in place after F1 veteran Eddie Jordan approached him about it. Wolff said: “I said to Eddie, ‘Only a paranoid mind could come up with such an idea. If it would have been our idea it would have been bloody well done. There was lots of pressure on Nico because Lewis was so quick.”
Rosberg made the same mistake earlier in the race when Hamilton was well behind him, which seems to provide more evidence that there were no team orders.
Rosberg said in a video blog posted yesterday: “Lewis was quick so I had to step up my game and tried to get that bit extra out of it and then messed up and locked up.”
Rosberg’s duel for the title with Hamilton has been headline news since their coming together at the Belgian GP two weeks ago, which sent Hamilton out of the race as the German finished second. Mercedes reportedly fined Rosberg.
Rosberg’s championship lead was cut to 22 points with six races remaining by Hamilton’s win at Monza, his sixth of a difficult season despite a troubled start.
“The problems I had getting off the startline made it better,” Hamilton said. “A race like that is so much more satisfying than just winning from the front. When I lost those places at the start I was feeling, ‘Damn, Nico’s getting away now.’ But fortunately I was able to get past Kevin Magnussen and Felipe Massa, and even though I used my tyres up quite a bit doing that, I still had good pace.”
He said that while he had confidence before this success – his last win was at Silverstone in July and before that in Spain in May – it had solidified.
“In general the result was very encouraging. It’s not easy when anyone is under pressure, especially when it’s me pressuring someone, or when I’ve had Fernando [Alonso] or Sebastian [Vettel] pressuring me. But it was a general positive today, and a step forward.”
The Brit is now hoping his Italian victory has provided him with a launchpad to reel in Rosberg, but is wary of Mercedes’ technical gremlins returning to haunt him.
“I’d like to think this win is a platform, but I have no idea what’s going to happen forwards from here,” said Hamilton.
“Over the weekend I had quite a few problems, missed almost a whole session in P2, then in qualifying in Q2 the car wouldn’t start again, but fortunately it did.
“As for the start sequence (at the beginning of the race), it could have been a lot worse. That was the best it could ever be considering I didn’t have the launch.”
Asked as to whether the power balance had again shifted in the wake of his win, Hamilton replied: “Potentially, maybe. Time will tell.
“But these problems just keep popping up. Paddy (Lowe, executive technical director) said ‘It’s just so unlucky, with all the engines it just keeps happening to yours’.
“Hopefully we’ll rectify them. Right now, I’m just looking forward, head down, and I see no reason why I can’t be as fast moving forwards.”
