The four-time world champion on Monday repeated the view of race victor Hamilton by saying that it was a bad example to other drivers.
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Hamilton said after the race that he did not think Rosberg had lifted enough, and that he would have struggled to stop if a auto or a marshal was on track.
“I don’t think he was backing him up at all”, said Wolff. “I fully expected him to come back and I didn’t expect to be 43 points in front all the time, it ebbs and flows and it’s always going to be a tough battle against him because he’s the world champion”. “I like it very much, and I think they looked wonderful”, Hamilton said.
Rosberg, clearly unimpressed with Hamilton’s remarks, patted Hamilton on the back and said sarcastically: “Thank you for that statement”. “We’ve had very open discussions with them, we’ve been with each other four years now and it’s important that each one of them concentrates on their strengths”. He wrote: “Being a world champion doesn’t give you the right to be disrespectful to your competitors, my friend @LewisHamilton”.
Since the incident, Hamilton has won five out of six grands prix.
The defending world champion won the Hungarian GP last Sunday to move into P1 in the title race for the first time this season and leapfrogs rival team-mate Nico Rosberg.
Speaking after winning Sunday’s race in Hungary, Hamilton aired his criticism of the decision, believing it sets a bad precedent.
Hamilton trailed Rosberg by a massive 43 points after May’s Spanish Grand Prix following a spate of reliability problems in the early part of the season. “I have spoken to Charlie for clarification, because as I said in the press conference, which obviously I don’t want to bring up again, but in the next scenario when I’m in the same position where I was all I have to do is lose a tenth in Turn 8, and even though there’s a auto facing me on the track in Turn 9, all I have to do is lose a tenth”.
His early season troubles have left him short of power unit components, however, and Hamilton knows he may have to take a grid penalty or start from the back of the grid at some point later in the year.
He said: “I’m still in the mentality of chasing”.
“I’m disappointed because I wanted to win Hungary, not because some points are this way or that way and soon I will be very excited again because it’s the home race”. The race at Hockenheim, absent from the calendar previous year, takes place in just a week’s time.
“I’m very proud of that but conscious there’s a long way to go so it is important we go from strength to strength”.
“Hungary was not a strong weekend for me”.
With Hockenheim returning to the calendar this weekend after the German Grand Prix was cancelled last season, Rosberg returns to his home track knowing he triumphed there in 2014.
The four-time world champion yesterday repeated the view of race victor Hamilton by saying that it was a bad example to other drivers.
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“And then, the way the kids think, is “I don’t need to lift off much because in Formula One it’s OK”. The fact that he didn’t get penalised for it means that we need to be careful here, because the message that we are sending, not only to the drivers here but also to the drivers in the lower categories. And that’s us, the pinnacle, and that’s how we have to behave.
