BARCELONA, Spain — Report by Race Chaser Online Managing Editor Jacob Seelman — Clive Mason/Getty Images Europe photo —
After Lewis Hamilton scored pole position for the Pirelli Spanish Grand Prix and it seemed that Mercedes AMG Petronas would be well on their way to yet another dominating performance Sunday in Catalunya, the long-simmering rivalry between he and teammate Nico Rosberg exploded in its most dramatic incident yet on the opening lap of the race.
Hamilton led the grid away from the pole position, but his teammate, four-time season winner Nico Rosberg, got a better start and stormed up the outside on the exit of turn one to assume the top spot. Not to be outdone, Hamilton dogged Rosberg through turns two and three before getting a huge run exiting the third turn — making a run to Rosberg’s inside up the short chute towards four.
Rosberg threw the block to protect his lead, forcing Hamilton wide and into the grass, where the three-time World Champion lost control of his Mercedes and spun across the track into Rosberg. The two shunted off the track and into the gravel pit at the apex of the corner, both with massive damage and both eliminated in a dramatic twist of fate.
The incident marked the team’s first double retirement since the 2011 Australian Grand Prix, and Sunday was the first time that the team failed to score a point with either driver in four years (2012 Brazilian Grand Prix).
However, team boss Toto Wolff was quick to refrain from casting the burden of responsibility exclusively on either driver.
“Of course both Nico and Lewis were both upset after the incident, both for themselves and for the team,” Wolff said to the media. “They were both apologetic to the team. We lost a potential one-two finish and 43 points along with that. A lot of effort going into the cars was all thrown away very quickly today.”
“I have not apportioned any blame. I think it is a very difficult situation and a very difficult incident to analyze. There is definitely not a clear-cut explanation and I wouldn’t want to blame either of them at this stage.”
The incident, which went under investigation by the stewards almost immediately, drew a safety car period and turned the race lead over to Daniel Ricciardo’s Red Bull. It also officially ended Rosberg’s hopes of scoring his eighth-consecutive Grand Prix victory, dating back to the final three events of the 2015 season.
Rosberg and Hamilton have had a heated history since becoming teammates at Mercedes in 2013. They had a collision at the 2014 Belgian Grand Prix on lap two which was later deemed by the team to be Rosberg’s fault, and most recently, Rosberg threw his cap at Hamilton upon the conclusion of last fall’s United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas — where Hamilton clinched his second-straight World Championship and third overall.
Hamilton responded to the media’s query on the apparent friction between he and his teammate in February, just before the start of the 2016 season.
“There is friction there. But it is a small fire that everybody pours a lot of gasoline on to make it bigger. And then, of course, also me and Nico — we unintentionally pour more gasoline on to the fire depending on who is winning a race.”
“So it is real — a real competition (between us).”
EDITOR’S NOTE: The incident was cleared by the race stewards following the checkered flag, with no further action being taken against either driver.
About the Writer
Jacob Seelman is the Managing Editor of Race Chaser Online and creator of the Motorsports Madness radio show, airing at 7 p.m. Eastern every Monday on the Performance Motorsports Network.
Seelman grew up in the sport, watching his grandparents co-own the RaDiUs Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series team in the 1990s.
The 22-year-old is currently studying Broadcast Journalism at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., and is also serving as the full-time tour announcer for the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series.
Email Jacob at: speed77radio@gmail.com
Follow on Twitter: @Speed77Radio or @JacobSeelman77
Email Race Chaser Online: news@racechaseronline.com
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