Niki Lauda emphasizes a 'team effort' is the priority for Mercedes
Mercedes F1 executive chairman Niki Lauda was quick to question Lewis Hamilton’s tactics in Abu Dhabi, and insisted that he would not have done the same when he was a driver.
Lauda was adamant that Hamilton was in the wrong when he slowed down Nico Rosberg.
“We did all these tricks in the past,” he said. “I understand Lewis’s action. On the other hand, there’s a team effort. Mercedes has to win, in the most secure way, these races. And today the end it was only exciting, but not secure. So in the end we gave him an order, speed up. He said, ‘Leave me alone. I’m racing,’ which is a funny quote by the way.”
Asked if he would have done the same in 1984, he said: “I tell you, honestly if I think about it now, not to annoy my team colleague, we did all the tricks in the past, but there was still a simple respect for the other one. Nico did a great job the whole season, he had 12 points in advance, so to push him all the way back to fourth would never have happened.”
Meanwhile, Lauda tried to look on the bright side of the team’s ongoing run of success.
“It can’t be better honestly. We have to really stick to the reality. We won the championship again. With Nico I really congratulate him, because the first championship is the biggest hard work ever, and therefore it’s fantastic for us.”
