Red Bull’s Christian Horner says that intra-team racing rivalries, such as the one currently involving Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, are “enormously difficult’ to manage”.
The Mercedes pairing has been fighting for the Drivers’ title for the past three years, which has resulted in a series of flashpoints. The latest incident took place on the final lap of last Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix, as the pair collided while fighting for the lead.
Horner is well-versed in feuding team-mates, having overseen Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber’s sometimes rocky relationship. Asked how tricky it is to deal with this kind of situation, the Red Bull team boss admits it is not easy and predicts more troubles at Mercedes.
“It is enormously difficult because no matter how much those guys say they are team players, they are contractors and racing for themselves,” Horner said. “They are going for the biggest prize in motorsport. Inevitably they will do what is right for them.
“Both [Hamilton and Rosberg] were fighting for the world championship. I haven’t seen the accident in a replay and I’m sure it won’t be the only one for the rest of this year.
“I think for Mercedes, in the long term, how tenable is it for that pairing to continue as a team?”
However, the 42-year-old believes the Constructors' champions do not need to resort to using team orders, given their healthy advantage and how thrilling the Hamilton-Rosberg duel is to watch.
“I think they’ve got sufficient margin over the rest of the field. Why do they need to consider that? It creates interest in F1, which it needs with two team-mates who may not be best of mates.”
Horner probably would not mind the Mercedes battle to spill over into further on-track collisions. Earlier this year, Red Bull rising star Max Verstappen became the youngest ever winner in Formula One’s history after Hamilton and Rosberg took each other out on the opening lap of the Spanish Grand Prix.
Last Sunday’s tussle also promoted the Duchman to second place, as Verstappen managed to get past a limping Rosberg on the 71st and final tour in Austria.
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