Mercedes mechanics taunted Lewis Hamilton with pictures of Nico Rosberg in F1 motorhome

Follow us on Google Discover

Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg’s rivalry is perhaps one of the most intense in F1 history, and Mercedes mechanics did not help the situation by mocking their drivers during race weekends.

The pair went from childhood friends to enemies when Hamilton joined Mercedes in 2013, partnering with Rosberg. Soon, they became championship rivals as the Silver Arrows displayed their dominance in the turbo hybrid era.

Hamilton won titles in 2014 and 2015, before Rosberg clinched his only title in 2016 and swiftly announced his retirement. Those three years were intense in Brackley, as the pair showed a clear dislike for one another.

We’ve seen some intense feuds between teammates. But what is the greatest rivalry ever?

Comment

Like or Comment

Have your say Sign-in now for free

The duo came to blows numerous times at Mercedes, most notably at the 2016 Spanish GP. Rosberg and Hamilton were fined £360k over the incident, and Toto Wolff even revealed that he was close to sacking them both.

Alain Prost offered advice to Wolff on how to manage his two drivers. The boss and the senior management handled the situation ‘professionally’, according to former engineering director Aldo Costa, but the same could not be said for the team’s mechanics.

Mercedes mechanics mocked Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg during intense rivalry

Costa recalled via Terruzzi Racconta how the Mercedes mechanics used to mock Hamilton and Rosberg during their rivalry.

Rosberg and Hamilton would not even say hello to each other, highlighting how tense the rivalry was. But the mechanics played into that, as they stuck pictures of the two drivers in the Mercedes motorhome at the Monaco GP.

Costa shared the ordeal, as well as how the whole team at Mercedes managed Hamilton and Rosberg’s tense spat.

“The team handled it very professionally,” he said. “Well, what Toto was doing was talking a lot with Lewis and a lot with Nico, but they were one-on-one chats, so we didn’t know, we technicians, yes, we didn’t even really know how the two of them were being managed.

“Well, the mechanics, on the other hand, were fuelling the rivalry. Of course, I remember in Monte Carlo, and in Monte Carlo, there isn’t a toilet in the pit, is there?

“So to go to the toilet, you have to go to the motorhome. The teams had a little wash, or rather they’d set up a portable wash in the pit.

“The mechanics had it all plastered with pictures of Nico and Hamilton as kids when they were racing go-karts, with all the races showing that one was won by Hamilton, the other by Rosberg, and next to where you pressed the button there was Rosberg, there was Hamilton, you had to choose.”