Nico Rosberg rejects allegations of favoritism at Mercedes and explains why George Russell, as the race leader, should actually have had strategic priority
Nico Rosberg has rejected allegations that Mercedes favored Kimi Antonelli over George Russell at the Italian Grand Prix. The 2016 world champion believes there are clear internal rules at his former team, according to which the leading Mercedes in the race receives first choice in strategy.
Antonelli won at Monza starting from 19th on the grid, benefiting from a virtual safety car period midway through the race. The Italian switched to fresh medium tires, while Russell, as the race leader, stayed on the track on hard tires. In the end, Antonelli prevailed over his teammate.
Afterward, Rosberg was asked on Sky whether Mercedes might have acted in favor of the driver leading the world championship. His answer was unequivocal: “No, no, no, no, no. Equal opportunities for both. That’s how it has to be. And that’s exactly how it is. They’re fighting for the world championship.”
Leading Mercedes gets first choice
Rosberg knows Mercedes’ internal processes from personal experience. From 2010 to 2016, the German drove for the team and became world champion there in 2016. In his view, there’s a clear rule when it comes to strategy.
“It’s very clear internally within the team,” explains Rosberg. “George is leading the race. He gets the best strategy to cross the finish line as quickly as possible.” Russell generally gets first choice in this regard. “He gets first choice. It doesn’t matter where Kimi is or what he’s doing or whatever,” says Rosberg.
That is precisely why, in that decisive situation, the strategy chosen for Russell was to stay out on the hard tires. “And Mercedes has to confirm that now,” explains Rosberg. From his perspective, that approach would then be completely understandable.
Was staying out really the best option?
For Rosberg, the crucial point is therefore whether the team actually offered Russell the fastest option for the remainder of the race. “At that point, the best option for George was to stay out and not come in to put on those medium tires,” he says.
The tire situation also played a role. According to Rosberg, Russell had only one used set of medium tires left. A pit stop to switch to those tires therefore wasn’t necessarily the better option. Moreover, he would have lost his track position, and it was unclear whether he would have been able to catch up to Antonelli again by the end of the race.
“If that’s the case, then everything is simple and fair,” Rosberg concludes. So the decisive factor wasn’t who was leading the World Championship, but who should get the better strategy at that particular point in the race. However, he noted that it’s difficult to judge the situation from the outside.
At the same time, the former Mercedes driver admits: “It’s hard to know that from the outside.” He hopes, however, that this was precisely the reasoning behind the team’s decision.
Rosberg Demands a Clear Explanation from Mercedes
When asked whether Mercedes might have hesitated to bring the race leader into the pits because Russell could have lost the lead as a result, Rosberg stood by his principle. “George has to get the best strategy because he’s in the lead,” 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 indeed the fastest option to get Russell to the finish line. “And it must have been the case that staying out on the hard tires was the fastest way to the finish, because he only had one used set of mediums left.”
