As a war of words, it was no contest between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. The tiny Monza press conference room was packed to the rafters yesterday as we waited to hear what the combatants in the most rancorous duel of recent times had to say about the incident that could come to dominate the story of this season.
It was more powder-puff than gunpowder, though, as the pair steered a clear path, under strict instructions by the Mercedes management not to reignite any simmering tensions.
Between them was Fernando Alonso, the Ferrari man with little hope of winning the Italian Grand Prix this weekend, but rather relishing this strife in the opposition camp. Hamilton was so engaged by the ranks of cameras and notebooks that he commandeered a mobile phone from his PR man to take a picture of the media watching him.
He appeared to be a driver at ease with himself and his world, even though he came out on the wrong end of that collision with Rosberg at the Belgian Grand Prix a fortnight ago. Hamilton may have lost that particular battle, but you had the feeling that he emerged from the wreckage having got one over on his team-mate.
Rosberg has been wearing sackcloth and ashes since he clipped the rear of Hamilton’s twin Mercedes on only the second lap at Spa. The incident ended his team-mate’s race, and the German went on to finish second and widen the gap between them in the world championship to 29 points. Rosberg took the blame, had to issue an abject apology and took the punishment of a six-figure fine. Some sort of disciplinary action against Hamilton was discussed, apparently for blabbing the secrets of the discussions post-race, but it was felt to be not enough of a crime had been committed. When asked, Hamilton appeared unsure as to whether he had been disciplined or not. “I don’t know really,” he said. Odd that.
Advertisement
That left Rosberg out on his own as the offender-in-chief. The German looked haunted as he fielded question after question, from how he felt about ruining his team-mate’s championship to realising that he had divided the Mercedes team with his careless action, and whether he felt the responsibility of the history of Formula One weighing on his shoulders.
The consummate professional answered straight from the public relations manual, but you could see his discomfort. Rosberg explained why he apologised, when he apologised and how badly he felt. How much more could the poor man give? He at least gave the history question a go.
“I really want to contribute to my sport,” Rosberg said. “I want it to be the most entertaining sport in the world and, if I am able to contribute to that, I am very happy. In Spa, I was not proud of the way it went.”
So could Hamilton now trust his miscreant of a colleague as we approach the sharp end of the season, starting in Monza? “Trust is a big word,” Hamilton said, “and it’s not really something I would apply to racing on the track. Nico and I have been racing for a long time and we set a good foundation a long, long time ago. That is what we’re working on.”
After 30 minutes of intense grilling that raked over old ground and revealed little more than was already known, off they went. The real stuff does not start until tomorrow — and that is when fans and observers will know whether actions will speak louder than their words yesterday.