Rosberg rejects Mercedes accusation: “Equal chances for both”

– Nico Rosberg has rejected allegations that Mercedes favored Kimi Antonelli over George Russell at the Italian Grand Prix. The 2016 world champion sees clear internal rules at his former team, according to which the leading Mercedes in the race gets the first choice in strategy.

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Antonelli won in Monza starting from 19th place and benefited from a virtual safety car phase in the middle of the race. The Italian switched to fresh medium tires, while Russell, as the leader, stayed out on hard tires. In the end, Antonelli prevailed against his teammate.

Afterwards, Rosberg was asked on Sky whether Mercedes might have acted in favor of the driver leading the championship. His answer was clear: “No, no, no, no, no. Equal chances for both. It has to be that way. And it is that way. They are fighting for the world championship.”

Leading Mercedes gets first choice

Rosberg knows the internal processes at Mercedes from his own experience. From 2010 to 2016, the German drove for the team and became world champion there in 2016. According to his assessment, there is a clear rule regarding strategy.

“It is very clear internally in the team,” explains Rosberg. “George is leading the race. He gets the best strategy to get to the finish as quickly as possible.” Russell basically has the first choice. “He gets the first choice. It doesn’t matter where Kimi is or what he does or whatever,” says Rosberg.

That is exactly why the strategy chosen for Russell in the decisive situation was to stay out on the hard tires. “And Mercedes now has to confirm that,” explains Rosberg. From his point of view, the approach would then be completely understandable.

Was staying out really the best option?

The crucial point for Rosberg is therefore whether the team actually offered Russell the fastest option for the further course of the race. “At that moment, the best option for George was to stay out and not come in and take those medium tires,” he says.

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The tire situation also played a role. According to Rosberg, Russell only had one used set of medium tires left. A pit stop for these tires was therefore not automatically the better option. In addition, he would have given up track position, and it was unclear whether he would have caught Antonelli again at the end of the race.

“If that is the case, then everything is simple and fair,” is Rosberg’s conclusion. The decisive factor was therefore not who was leading the world championship, but who should get the better strategy at the respective point in the race. However, it is difficult to assess the situation from the outside.

Rosberg demands clear explanation from Mercedes

When asked whether Mercedes might have been reluctant to call the race leader into the pits because Russell could have lost the lead as a result, Rosberg stuck to his principle. “George has to get the best strategy because he is leading,” he says. “He has to get the best strategy, whatever it is.”

For Rosberg, Mercedes must therefore above all be able to explain that staying out was actually the fastest option to bring Russell to the finish. “And it must have been the fastest way to the finish to stay out on the hard tires because he only had one used set of medium tires left.”

At the same time, the former Mercedes driver admits: “It is hard to know that from the outside.” However, he hopes that exactly this consideration was behind the team’s decision.

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