19 October 2023 , 06:00
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Nico Rosberg urged George Russell not to be the "nice guy" in the Mercedes team as he reflected on the Brit's crash with Lewis Hamilton in Qatar.
Hamilton tried to go around the outside of his team-mate at the first corner on his softer tyres. But he misjudged the move and made contact with the other Mercedes, sending the seven-time world champion spinning into the gravel and out of the race.
He took responsibility for causing the collision – but it was hardly the first flashpoint between them this year. Even just two weeks earlier they were fighting intensely in wheel-to-wheel combat, though that time a catastrophe was avoided.
Mercedes insisted they want to see a little bit of needle between their drivers, in an attempt to downplay the incidents. "There should be a little bit of tension there because they are competitors and we don't want puppy dogs in the car, we want lions and that's what we've got," said communications chief Bradley Lord.
Rosberg has personal experience of going up against Hamilton in the same team. The relationship between them deteriorated during an intense battle for the 2016 title, which was won by the German who then immediately retired from the sport.
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Now a pundit, Rosberg told the Sky Sports F1 podcast that Russell needs to be his own advocate and put his elbows out when necessary. "Things have been heating up there because also, in Suzuka, it was well over the limit on one occasion when they both took each other off the track," he said.
"It's a very difficult situation for George as well. Unfortunately, you can't just be the nice guy in that situation – you have to also keep the pressure on. You have to make it difficult for the team, unfortunately. It sucks, but otherwise, the team will always just take the easiest route.
"So it's very uncomfortable because George needs to be pushing, which he does on the radio. You hear him saying things like, 'Again' and things like that. So, he's really trying to hold against it.
"It was a good one in Qatar for George because Lewis actually admitted [he was at fault]. So that was a big win for George in that sense, also internally, which is very rare because in my time Lewis never had 100 per cent fault, so he never actually had to admit in that way. So it's very, very rare for Lewis to be at 100 per cent fault at that, it usually never happens."
The challenge for Mercedes, Lord said, is to make sure the relationship between their two drivers is strong enough to withstand the tension. He added: "The real challenge is how do you build a healthy and trusting relationship? And how do you work together as a team in order to achieve the team's objectives? And they're both really able to do that.
"I think Lewis, again, has paid tribute to the quality of his relationship with George after the race and they'll talk about this, put it behind them, and then we'll come back even stronger in Austin as a team."