Toto Wolff has revealed that advice from four-time champion Alain Prost helped to avoid ‘all-out war’ at Mercedes during the 2014 season.
Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg fell out following a spat in Monaco when a mistake from the German scuppered Hamilton’s chance of securing pole.
Things deteriorated further when the pair clashed at Spa-Francorchamps, leading to increased tensions within the team.
To avoid a situation similar to Prost versus Ayrton Senna – the pair famously fell out when they were team-mates at McLaren – Wolff turned to Prost himself for advice.
“You have to learn from past mistakes,” Wolff told Autosprint. “I discussed it a bit with Niki Lauda when we signed Hamilton and Rosberg.
“Then I was talking with Prost and I asked him his opinion about what I should do not to fall into the same all-out war situation he had with Ayrton.
“Then he said the magic word — transparency,” explained Wolff.
“He told me that at the time McLaren did not act in a transparent way with the drivers. Perhaps because Senna was the last to arrive so he was the novelty.
“Prost said that in the end he couldn’t understand how the team was organised as disagreements and rivalries between the drivers spread to the mechanics. The team was split in two.
“So Alain gave me very precise advice not to do the same. ‘Put the two drivers on an even footing and tell everyone exactly the same things. Do not play favourites. It is the only way to contain the rivalry’, he said.
“And so I did. It was one of the most important lessons I have learned about becoming a good team leader.”
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