Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff thinks that allowing Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg to fight “lifts the performance of the whole team”, as the pair heads to Monaco, a place where their 2014 feud ignited.
While the reigning champion had clearly had the upper hand in the first four fly-away races, Formula One’s comeback to Europe coincided with his team-mate’s return to winning ways at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Wolff believes Rosberg’s Spanish resurgence and challenge to Hamilton can only bode well for Mercedes this year, despite the potential pitfalls.
“Barcelona was a great weekend and the drivers did a perfect job in the race,” he said. “We saw the advantage swing between them last year and I think we will see more of that in 2015.
“They are mentally tough, resilient and hate to lose – they push each other all the time to lift their performance and that lifts the performance of the whole team.”
The defending Constructors’ champions arrived in Spain with Ferrari hot on its heels but ended up dominating the field in the most convincing way since Melbourne’s season opener.
Having already claimed he was still wary of Mercedes’ “so-called” gaps to its rivals, Wolff admits his team is in a good spot but cannot afford any mistake to extend its momentum into the Monte Carlo weekend.
“We saw in Spain that our car had a good advantage in the tight third sector, so we head to Monaco with some optimism. But there is no point talking about any gap to the opposition.
“You have to earn every advantage and it can turn around very quickly if you're not on top of your game - especially in Monaco. It's a challenging weekend for the team, the drivers and the car.
“We will need to be at our best if we want to maintain our good form.”
Last year's edition saw Rosberg claim a controversial pole position ahead of Hamilton before a fine getaway proved the perfect springboard for the German to secure his second consecutive Monaco Grand Prix win.
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