Rosberg / Hamilton: Analysis of Mercedes’ Communication Strategy

Since the start of the season, Mercedes was thrilled to be in a position to say that its two drivers were completely free to fight for the world title, as long as it had no impact on the Constructors’ Championship.

**Beautiful battles but numerous frictions**

This resulted in some very exciting battles on track, particularly during the Grand Prix of Bahrain, where the two drivers fought wheel-to-wheel for most of the race. The Mercedes management was all the more delighted as this helped to overshadow the fact that the two cars were significantly superior to those of their competitors.

Initial cracks appeared, nonetheless. In Bahrain, Nico Rosberg occasionally used an unauthorized engine mode to try to gain an advantage over his teammate. In Spain, Lewis Hamilton did not adhere to the instructions to protect his engine throughout the race to ensure that his teammate wouldn’t be in a position to catch up with him. During the following weekend in Monaco, Nico Rosberg provoked a yellow flag during qualifying, which, in effect, handed him pole position and almost ensured his victory the next day.

But an additional step was taken in Hungary when the pit wall asked Lewis Hamilton to let his teammate pass, as he was on a different strategy. The British driver chose to refuse this instruction, considering Nico Rosberg as the rest of the field and not as his teammate.

However, even if all these incidents strained the friendship that had developed between the two men when they were karting, Toto Wolff was still in a position to say that they were free to race each other on track since it put Mercedes on the “right” side compared to teams like Ferrari (during the Schumacher/Barrichello or Alonso/Massa era) or Red Bull (Vettel/Webber).

The Turn of Spa

With the Spa contact, saying nothing or doing nothing was no longer an option for the leaders of the star firm, as the team was deprived of a double victory that was within reach. Toto Wolff and Niki Lauda expressed their anger at the end of the race, while Lewis Hamilton positioned himself as a victim, claiming that his teammate even admitted to have done it on purpose.

A “summit meeting” was held today between Toto Wolff, Paddy Lowe, and the two drivers. But even before this meeting, the team’s strategy was clear. Indeed, the day before, the team asked the “Twittersphere” what they preferred to see for the future: team orders or a battle without instructions. If the first option had been chosen by the decision-makers, the question would never have been posed publicly since, unsurprisingly, over 90% of the responses were in favor of a fair battle.

Maintaining the race strategy

At the end of this meeting, the team logically made it known that it had decided to continue with the current policy but that it would be intolerable for another incident to occur. Disciplinary sanctions, not detailed, were even taken against Nico Rosberg, who acknowledged his mistake and apologized.

The team leaders have thus shown that they are still in control and that they want the best for the sport: « Mercedes-Benz remains committed to pure and fair racing because it is the right way to win world titles. It is good for the team, the fans, and Formula 1. Lewis and Nico understand and accept the team’s number 1 rule: there must be no contact between the team’s cars on the track. It has been made clear that another incident of this kind will not be tolerated. But Nico and Lewis are our drivers, and we believe in them. They remain free to fight for the Formula 1 World Championship.

It is also interesting to note that both drivers have also released their own statements. In his, Nico Rosberg admits an error of judgment while Lewis Hamilton states that we both made mistakes.

Now we will have to see the actions on track, starting with Monza next week.

With the participation of www.Racingbusiness.fr