Former Formula 1 driver Nico Rosberg has revealed an unusual Mercedes policy during his time as Lewis Hamilton’s teammate. According to the German, both pilots needed to financially bear the costs of damages caused in accidents caused by each other.
The rivalry between Rosberg and Hamilton was one of the most intense in recent F1 history. Side by side in the German team between 2014 and 2016, the drivers had several clashes on the track, mainly in the fight for the title in 2016, won by Rosberg, who announced his retirement as a driver shortly after winning the title.
The peak of tension occurred in 2016, with accidents such as the one on the opening lap at the Spanish GP, which paved the way for Max Verstappen’s first victory in F1. Rosberg revealed that such incidents took a heavy toll.
“Because of the crashes between me and Lewis, the team made us pay for the damage,” said Rosberg in a podcast about sports business.
It was already public knowledge that Rosberg had to pay a large sum after the collision with Hamilton at Spa-Francorchamps (2014), supposedly donated to charity. However, Rosberg’s recent statement indicates a broader policy by Mercedes to discourage accidents among its drivers.
“We had to sign a contract stipulating that, from then on, in the event of an accident between us, regardless of who was at fault, we would pay for the damages. I remember how much I paid: it was 360 thousand pounds sterling (about R$2 million at current prices) for one of these raids. It hurt a lot,” Rosberg said.
Despite the high value, Rosberg recognizes the effectiveness of the measure. “Certainly after that, we were very careful not to hit each other again,” he concluded.
Although Rosberg did not specify which incident generated the million-dollar fine, the context suggests that it was the crash at the 2016 Austrian GP, a few weeks after the accident in Spain. This was the last major clash between the two drivers as teammates.
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