Nico Rosberg is bracing himself for a backlash from wounded Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton after seizing the initiative in the Formula One title race.
Nico Rosberg is bracing himself for a backlash from wounded Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton after seizing the initiative in the Formula One title race.
Hamilton, the reigning world champion, looked to be cruising to victory in Malaysia last weekend before his engine blew up as Rosberg’s battling third-place finish allowed the German to open a 23-point lead with five races left.
Rosberg, whose feud with Hamilton has threatened to boil over in previous years, predicted on Thursday that Hamilton would come back strong in the championship run-in.
“I don’t draw encouragement from (Hamilton’s troubles),” insisted Rosberg, who threw away a 43-point advantage earlier this season. I don’t really think too much about Lewis’s misfortune, I think more about my situation.
“Anyways I know that Lewis, when he has difficulties like that, will come back fully-motivated,” he added. “So it’s not really encouraging to know that he’s going to come back as strong as ever.”
In stark contrast to Hamilton, who angrily tore into Mercedes after his third engine failure of the season in Sepang, Rosberg is enjoying a purple patch of form, having won three races in a row before Malaysia.
Snapchatting Hami Meanwhile, Hamilton cut a surly figure, fiddling with his phone during a news conference and complaining a higher power caused his dramatic engine fire in Malaysia.
As his Sepang victory hopes went up in smoke last weekend, the world champion appeared to point to a Mercedes conspiracy against him in a furious rant, fuming: “Someone doesn’t want me to win this year.”
With five races left this season the Briton has since gone to great lengths to deny any suggestion of skullduggery, posting several photos on social media praising his “awesome car crew”.
By Thursday, Hamilton was blaming God for his mechanical issues — claiming that was what he meant all along.
“It appears currently the ‘guy above’ doesn’t really want me to win right now. But I’ve made a point on my Instagram so I don’t really have much more to say about it.”
