Winless streak strengthened Hamilton - Wolff

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Mercedes boss Toto Wolff believes that Lewis Hamilton's recent winless streak, which ended on Sunday in Monte-Carlo, served the purpose of making the defending world champion stronger.

Hamilton achieved his 44th career win in Monaco following a thrilling race which saw the 31-year-old beat Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo as well as interrupt team mate Nico Rosberg's seven-race run.

Wolff believes that Hamilton's trials and tribulations this year not only reinforced his motivation, but they also fortified his relationship with the German squad.

"These last couple of weeks have strengthened him and strengthened our relationship," Wolff said.

"That’s how I perceive it. If you go through really bad times together it builds the relationship and gives the relationship even more strengths.

"We had many discussions in the difficult moments and in the end this is just what the doctor ordered.

"We needed that win, he needed that win, and we put Nathan on the podium - his Number One mechanic - and although I feel for Nico that it wasn’t going well for him it’s just a big relief that we were able to score that win with him after such a terrible streak of bad luck."

Wolff, who praised Nico Rosberg's attitude for allowing a faster Hamilton to pass him early on in the race, underlined the difficulty of the decision both from a team and driver's perspective.

"First of all, for any driver it is extremely difficult to accept such a call. We understand that and that’s why we looked at the situation for so many laps.

"It cost us quite some race time. It’s difficult for any driver, we looked at it for a couple of laps and hoped that the tyre would switch on but then Ricciardo was ten or eleven seconds gone.

"It was almost like a damaged car and this is why we decided to make that call and we debated it for quite a long time because it’s not what we’ve done in the past but it was clear that there was a problem on the car."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.