Austrian also doesn't think Rosberg is cracking under title strain
Tuesday 14 October 2014 09:04, UK
Mercedes chief Niki Lauda has made clear that the team will still expect Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg to race cleanly and fairly with each other in the closing stages of their personal title fight despite the team having now clinched the Constructors’ Championship.
After a season of near-total dominance, Mercedes sealed their first-ever teams' title with three races to spare via their ninth one-two finish of 2014 in Sunday’s Russian GP. Hamilton and Rosberg’s perfect result also effectively ended Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo’s outside chances of denying one of them the drivers’ crown, the Australian now 92 points adrift of leader Hamilton with only 100 left to play for.
Mercedes’ hierarchy have made clear throughout the season that winning the constructors’ crown was their first priority, a point emphasised to both their drivers after they controversially came together on track at Spa when the team stressed that a repeat “will not be tolerated”.
And despite that initial target being achieved, and the drivers’ title also now all-but assured of going to Hamilton or Rosberg, Lauda says the same rules will apply from Austin onwards.
“I expect them to race with brain and head and don’t crash into each other,” he told Sky Sports News HQ when asked what the team expected of Hamilton and Rosberg over the final races.
“Especially now it makes no sense because there are three more races. Three more races are a lot of points and if they hit each other and one stops and the other doesn’t there is the decision already happened. So I expect them to race normal to Abu Dhabi and in Abu Dhabi because of this stupid double-point system – which I personally don’t like – an exciting race between the two drivers because this will be the race of the decision [of who wins the title]."
After sitting down both drivers following the dramatic events of Spa in August, a clash Rosberg apologised for, Lauda says that since then “everything works perfect”, with the start of Sunday’s race showing that the title rivals have still been racing each other.
“In Sochi it was very close going into the first corner, so whoever complains they are not racing each other they are wrong,” the triple World Champion pointed out.
“Look at Sunday’s start, it could have been close if Lewis had turned in and Nico had gone straight, it would have been interesting. They are fighting each other for winning the Drivers’ World Championship and it’s going to stay like this.”
Rosberg’s spectacular lock-up under braking for the second corner while attempting to overtake Hamilton proved the decisive moment of the Sochi race, with the Briton going on to secure a serene victory.
But asked if he thought that the error showed Rosberg was beginning to feel the pressure of the title race, Lauda replied: “No. This lock-up can happen. It was a mistake every race driver can do.
“He was on the inside, maybe he was on a dirty part of the circuit and he underestimated the grip there, which is an explanation which I do understand.
"But in the end he drove an even better race than Lewis did because to come through the whole field and running these tyres for such a long time and being so quick, this was outstanding.”
