When Hamilton and Rosberg pushed Wolff to the point of ‘firing’ them

The incident between the two former Mercedes team-mates has long since gone down in the Formula 1 history books, yet it is still widely regarded as one of the most iconic moments of the modern era.

Speaking in an interview with The Athletic, the Austrian recalled how he reacted at the time and how he felt compelled to take a hard-line approach: "We accept the competition. We accept them racing against each other as long as they respect certain red lines. And that is very simple: don’t crash into each other. And I have never had any fear of making that very clear.

Wolff said the situation escalated as their personal rivalry took over, shifting from healthy competition into outright animosity, something he made clear would not be tolerated within the organisation, ultimately leading to the decision to inform both drivers they were temporarily no longer part of the team.

He noted that, from a spectator’s perspective, this can look unusual and slightly awkward, especially in a category where cars are expected to be running at maximum performance.

At the same time, he struck a more balanced tone, making it clear he is not overly concerned by the situation. In his view, as long as the racing remains competitive and delivers strong on-track battles between leading teams such as Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari, fans are unlikely to be too bothered by the technical trade-offs or the current balance between combustion power and hybrid systems.