Rosberg, Hamilton 'Cold War' is making Formula One fun again

The simmering tension between title rivals Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton finally boiled over at the Monaco Grand Prix, adding another element to the already riveting title battle between the Mercedes pair. The former childhood friends, finding themselves locked in a point-for-point two-way battle for the greatest prize in motor-racing, have been drifting apart for some time now but their relationship – which goes all the way back to their karting days – finally seems to be coming apart at the seams. The gloves had already been threatening to come off at Mercedes in the build-up to Formula One’s marquee event, with Hamilton – who went into the race with a three-point advantage over Rosberg – resorting to mind-games in an attempt to destabilise his rival. In an interview with Formula One’s official website ahead of the race, Hamilton suggested he was hungrier for the title than Rosberg because of the modest circumstances he grew up in whereas the German – son of 1982 world champion Keke – had enjoyed a much more privileged upbringing in Monaco surrounded by yachts, jets and luxury hotels. Rosberg for his part, in comments to the German media, seemed to suggest that Hamilton was prone to cracking under pressure. Both drivers played down the comments, saying they had been taken out of context. [caption id=“attachment_1542665” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg, of Germany, celebrates with his team after winning the Monaco Formula One Grand Prix. AP[/caption] Such mind-games are a vital part of any championship contender’s arsenal and have been deployed by many great champions over the years. For all the mind-games, the Hamilton-Rosberg rivalry had thus far been free of any sort of bad blood and, while they may not have been as close as they once were, there was certainly no hint of bitterness between the two. But all that changed on Saturday in the dying moments of qualifying when Nico Rosberg made a mistake on his final lap in the top-ten shootout. On provisional pole by a narrow 0.059 seconds from Hamilton following the initial runs in the final twelve-minute session, Rosberg locked up under braking for the tight Mirabeau corner on his second and final attempt, going up the escape road. The error brought out the yellow flags as a result of which Hamilton was forced to back off and abort his final attempt, which the Briton felt would have given him pole. The incident raised suspicions that Rosberg had deliberately left the track to bring out the yellows and deny Hamilton a shot at pole, and recalled memories of Michael Schumacher parking his Ferrari at the La Rascasse corner to prevent title-rival Fernando Alonso from taking pole in 2006. Rosberg’s error was investigated by stewards after the session who, having reviewed all of the data and telemetry from the 28-year-old’s car, cleared him of any wrongdoing or underhand tactics. Whether Rosberg really did go off the track deliberately or not is academic. What matters is that Hamilton believes he did. The Briton’s body language and comments after qualifying suggested that he was convinced that his team-mate had robbed him of pole at a circuit where starting as high up on the grid as possible is extremely crucial. Rosberg, after all, absolutely had to halt Hamilton’s run of four-straight victories and win this weekend to regain the initiative in the title-race. And what better way to do that than start from pole at a circuit around which only once in the last ten years has a driver not starting from first on the grid claimed the win? Hamilton’s belief that Rosberg had acted deliberately may have been fed by his own actions a fortnight ago in Spain. At that race, it was emerged later, Hamilton – fending off a charging Rosberg in the closing laps – turned up his engine settings to maximum, breaking an agreement the team and the drivers had on what engine map they could use. Hamilton said Rosberg had done the same to him in Bahrain while they were slugging it out for the win. In any case, correctly or incorrectly, Hamilton felt wronged after qualifying in Monaco and the tensions of Saturday spilled over into the race. Hamilton’s mood soured further when Mercedes didn’t bring him into the pits in anticipation of a safety car following Adrian Sutil’s accident and instead brought both drivers in together once the safety car had actually been deployed. Determined to redress the balance and put right the perceived wrongs perpetrated against him, Hamilton knew that had he come in a lap earlier, he could well have been able to seize the lead from his team-mate. As it happened, Mercedes pitted their drivers in accordance with their policy of equality, giving the lead car on track preference at the pitstops and, as a result, status quo was maintained, prompting repeated complaints from Hamilton over the team-radio. The situation perhaps exacerbated Hamilton’s feeling of injustice. After all, had he taken the pole he felt was rightfully his, there was a good chance he would have been the lead car in the race, which at Monaco would have guaranteed him the win as long as he kept it on the road. But since he wasn’t ahead of Rosberg, winning the race through a cleverly-timed pitstop was never an option and strategy was irrelevant. The only way for him to win was to pass Rosberg on track. As they got out of their cars following the race, the frostiness between Hamilton and Rosberg was telling in how much the relationship between the two has deteriorated. In Bahrain, despite just minutes after having contested a wheel-to-wheel duel that lasted well into the dying stages of the race, the pair shook hands and slapped each other’s backs in celebration and congratulations. It seemed the camaraderie between the pair, forged though racing around dusty old go-kart tracks in Europe, remained intact. But in Monaco, the two kept their distance, refusing to acknowledge each other. Rosberg at least struck a conciliatory tone. “We’ve always been friends, we always will be friends,” Rosberg told Sky Sports F1. “But friends is a big word. What exactly is friends? We have a good relationship and work well together.” Hamilton, though, was having none of it, though, and called time on his friendship with Rosberg. “We are not friends,” Hamilton told the broadcaster. “We are colleagues,” he declared.