Nico Rosberg says he “would accept” team orders, after Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff declared that the topic is “now on the table” following his drivers’ latest clash at the Austrian Grand Prix.
The F1 points leader collided with his team-mate Lewis Hamilton on the final lap of the race. Although the Briton survived the spat to win, Mercedes’ chances of a another 1-2 finish were scuppered as Rosberg could only manage P4 in his bruised W07.
Wolff immediately warned that the German constructor would be ready to “freeze the order” in order to prevent any further mishaps in future races.
“Toto and [Mercedes technical executive director] Paddy [Lowe] are extremely competent people, and that’s in their hands” Rosberg replied when asked about the perspective of team orders. “If they feel that’s the way to go then I would accept it. That’s it. It’s not in my control.”
Despite being found at fault by the Spielberg stewards, the German insists he did not run into Hamilton and left enough space to his triple word champion team-mate.
Rosberg also explains that he feels Hamilton was able to attack him chiefly because he “had the advantage of having one extra set of soft compared to me.”
“Normally you would use that in free practice, but because of the rain he was able to carry it into the race, which was always going to be a big advantage for him, which I was well aware of.
“That’s one of the main reasons why he did get an opportunity in the end.”
Rosberg still leads the Drivers' standings though his cushion over Hamilton has been trimmed from 24 to 11 points in the wake of the Austrian GP. Also quizzed about team orders, the Briton encouraged Mercedes not to go down that road.
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