The Hamilton-v-Rosberg war is a price worth paying for the popularity of the sport and for Mercedes itself. Let's keep them racing, says JONATHAN NOBLE
Mercedes always feared this moment would come. From the instant it decided on the eve of the season that it would allow Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton to race hard against each other, there was always the chance it would hit trouble at some point.
And what trouble Mercedes faces now. Beyond the lost points of the Belgian Grand Prix, and the headache of sorting out how it deals with its battling duo, it also finds itself at the centre of a huge media storm as the Hamilton and Rosberg sympathisers lock horns.
Some are already suggesting that Mercedes has created its own Frankenstein's monster, that its drivers are now out of control and there is a very real risk of the self-destructive force derailing any title ambitions.
Toto Wolff, the Mercedes motorsport boss, doesn't believe the situation is that bad, but was ready to concede after the Spa race that there was the chance of his team becoming a mockery at the end of the campaign if it didn't triumph with the kind of performance advantage its car has.
"We've probably not hit the self-destruct button yet but there's a lot at stake, and if you don't manage this properly now it could end up at that point," he said. "It's one thing enjoying great races and letting them fight with each other. But if you look like a fool at the end of the season then you haven't won anything."
The ultimate price for letting its drivers race would be for Daniel Ricciardo to come through the middle and snatch the title for Red Bull. But is the risk of that really big enough to outweigh the benefits of keeping the championship a thriller?
Wolff, not impressed © LAT |
While teams are ultimately judged by their results on track, and Mercedes' policy left it underdelivering in a race it should have comfortably finished with a one-two, there's little to suggest that its approach has been wrong. Turning the situation around, if you look at what would have happened if the team had locked things down from race one, then it's hard to find much benefit.
For a start, if the team had imposed an order that race positions became fixed after the first or final pitstops, it would have changed absolutely nothing in terms of results - amazingly, the pair have not properly swapped positions (beyond a few hundred metres in Bahrain) in a race battle since being unleashed in Melbourne.
Mercedes could have gone further in electing to lock things down at the first corner, but that would have delivered no guarantee of better results, and could even have produced more trouble because of the increased tensions caused by desperation to be the first man through that opening turn.
One other option would simply have been to have made either Rosberg or Hamilton a clear number one, and thrown all the team's weight behind them. Doing that would have guaranteed win after win and less tension for the team management, but there would also have been one dejected driver, a demoralised side of the garage - and almost certainly an F1 in crisis.
Fans would have switched off their televisions in droves, because there'd be little to get excited about watching two Silver Arrows cruise around at the front in formation. The bosses in Brackley and Stuttgart may not like the heat they're facing, but there's a huge spike in Formula 1 interest now. The world is talking about the Three-Pointed Star, there are pictures of Mercedes everywhere, and the spotlight has never shone more brightly on Rosberg and Hamilton.
Winning the F1 World Championship is the ultimate aim for any team and, while the cost of letting its drivers go out there and race wheel to wheel may sometimes be high, the rewards at the end will surely be greater.
When the dust has settled, the world will come to realise how 2014 was one of the very best title battles in history. The honour for the victors will be priceless.
The Hamilton-v-Rosberg war is a price worth paying for the popularity of the sport and for Mercedes itself. Let's keep them racing, says JONATHAN NOBLE
Mercedes always feared this moment would come. From the instant it decided on the eve of the season that it would allow Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton to race hard against each other, there was always the chance it would hit trouble at some point.
And what trouble Mercedes faces now. Beyond the lost points of the Belgian Grand Prix, and the headache of sorting out how it deals with its battling duo, it also finds itself at the centre of a huge media storm as the Hamilton and Rosberg sympathisers lock horns.
Some are already suggesting that Mercedes has created its own Frankenstein's monster, that its drivers are now out of control and there is a very real risk of the self-destructive force derailing any title ambitions.
Toto Wolff, the Mercedes motorsport boss, doesn't believe the situation is that bad, but was ready to concede after the Spa race that there was the chance of his team becoming a mockery at the end of the campaign if it didn't triumph with the kind of performance advantage its car has.
"We've probably not hit the self-destruct button yet but there's a lot at stake, and if you don't manage this properly now it could end up at that point," he said. "It's one thing enjoying great races and letting them fight with each other. But if you look like a fool at the end of the season then you haven't won anything."
The ultimate price for letting its drivers race would be for Daniel Ricciardo to come through the middle and snatch the title for Red Bull. But is the risk of that really big enough to outweigh the benefits of keeping the championship a thriller?
Wolff, not impressed © LAT |
While teams are ultimately judged by their results on track, and Mercedes' policy left it underdelivering in a race it should have comfortably finished with a one-two, there's little to suggest that its approach has been wrong. Turning the situation around, if you look at what would have happened if the team had locked things down from race one, then it's hard to find much benefit.
For a start, if the team had imposed an order that race positions became fixed after the first or final pitstops, it would have changed absolutely nothing in terms of results - amazingly, the pair have not properly swapped positions (beyond a few hundred metres in Bahrain) in a race battle since being unleashed in Melbourne.
Mercedes could have gone further in electing to lock things down at the first corner, but that would have delivered no guarantee of better results, and could even have produced more trouble because of the increased tensions caused by desperation to be the first man through that opening turn.
One other option would simply have been to have made either Rosberg or Hamilton a clear number one, and thrown all the team's weight behind them. Doing that would have guaranteed win after win and less tension for the team management, but there would also have been one dejected driver, a demoralised side of the garage - and almost certainly an F1 in crisis.
Fans would have switched off their televisions in droves, because there'd be little to get excited about watching two Silver Arrows cruise around at the front in formation. The bosses in Brackley and Stuttgart may not like the heat they're facing, but there's a huge spike in Formula 1 interest now. The world is talking about the Three-Pointed Star, there are pictures of Mercedes everywhere, and the spotlight has never shone more brightly on Rosberg and Hamilton.
Winning the F1 World Championship is the ultimate aim for any team and, while the cost of letting its drivers go out there and race wheel to wheel may sometimes be high, the rewards at the end will surely be greater.
When the dust has settled, the world will come to realise how 2014 was one of the very best title battles in history. The honour for the victors will be priceless.
