Mercedes AMG non-executive chairman Niki Lauda has questioned Ross Brawn’s decision to impose team orders on Nico Rosberg during the closing stages of the Malaysian Grand Prix.
The three-time F1 champion, who was appointed to his new role at Mercedes in September 2012 after helping to lure Lewis Hamilton away from McLaren, believes they should have allowed both drivers to race one another.
“From a sporting perspective, that was wrong,” the Austrian told The Times. “They should have let [Rosberg] go.”
He says he will talk to team principal Brawn about the decision.
“We need to talk to Ross, if this is the strategy to be used from now on.”
Meanwhile executive director Toto Wolff backed Brawn’s decision.
“There was no controversy,” he said. “Both of our drivers had a bit of fuel issue and we were not sure if we could run them until the end and both of them were advised they had the issue.
“Nico showed that he is a fantastic team player and he held onto the position. We would have done it in the opposite way as well.”
Discussion about this post