Wolff looks back on Rosberg and Hamilton rivalry: "We'll never know"

Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton were teammates and each other's biggest rivals from 2013 to 2016. Team boss Toto Wolff says the hefty rivalry between the two didn't help bring out the best in each other.

From best friends to enemies

Rosberg and Hamilton were best friends for a long time, having known each other during their time in go-karts. When the two became teammates at the championship winning Mercedes team, the atmosphere changed dramatically. On the High Performance Podcast Wolff explained that the two were not helping each other. "I'm not sure it gets the best out of both, because that is negativity, and you still have to be a team player."

Wolff explained his story further: "If the debriefing room is full of negativity, because the two drivers are hostile with each other, then that will spill over into the energy into the room, and that is not something I will ever allow again." The Austrian had no idea where the hostility from the two drivers came from. "We will never know."

Atmosphere with Bottas much better

Wolff is a team boss who doesn't let people walk all over him and also made it clear to the drivers that he didn't want to see selfish behaviour on the track. In Belgium 2014 and Spain 2016, the drivers collided and there were several moments in between where the Hamilton and Rosberg pushed the limit.

Rosberg left the sport after 2016, the year he became world champion. He was replaced at Mercedes by Valtteri Bottas. Bottas and Hamilton seem to have been getting along well for years and the rivalry between the two is therefore a lot less extreme.