Nico Rosberg has drawn from his Formula 1 rivalry with Lewis Hamilton to set up parallels between the McLaren duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
The title battle between the McLaren drivers has intensified going into the final eight races of the season.
Piastri leads his team-mate by 31 points, which could have been 38 points if not for the team orders deployed by McLaren in the Italian Grand Prix.
Norris had been leading Piastri, but a slow pitstop for the Briton allowed the Australian to overtake him on the pit straight.
The Woking-based squad was quick to ask Piastri to hand back the position, which was met with mixed reactions from the paddock and fans alike.
2016 F1 Champion Rosberg, however, has come to McLaren’s defence, drawing from his own experiences against Hamilton at Mercedes.
“I can tell you that it’s not defined in the papaya rules, because it’s not something that you can put down in a rule,” he told Sky F1.
“It’s so hard because where’s the cut-off point to that?”
“Monaco Grand Prix 2016, I’m racing against Lewis for the championship. I’m second, he is third, and [Daniel] Ricciardo is disappearing in the distance because I’m too slow,” he continued.
“There’s a threat that we as a team are losing the race win. It’s clear.
“So the team comes on the radio and tells me: ‘You need to let Lewis pass because we might lose the race win here otherwise.’
“So I moved over and waved him past because it was clearly defined and, of course, it’s hard in the moment, but it’s then clear and easy to understand and you just got to do it.
“Lewis didn’t do it in Abu Dhabi, which was the same situation, but also that is understandable that you would then.
“If you’re an assassin, you want to try and maximise the grey areas.”
Rosberg issues threat to ‘lucky’ McLaren
Strictly speaking, the duo of Norris and Piastri haven’t exactly come to blows like Rosberg and Hamilton did on countless occasions during the 2016 season.
That said, the German driver surmised that it was only a matter of time before the tension between the two boiled over.
“I think McLaren has been a bit lucky that their two drivers are not yet proper assassins,” he explained. “They’re just getting there, but they’re haven’t arrived yet.
“I think that’s what’s been holding up the whole situation so far, but still, the intensity still lies ahead of us, because [the] World Championship is so big, it’s your childhood dream that’s at stake there. It’s so huge.
“They’re going to be fighting every weekend, so there’s still plenty of action ahead of us.”
Rosberg went on to urge the team to sit its drivers down to ensure that the team’s priorities do not get overtaken by the personal rivalry brewing between them.
“What I would really ask McLaren is please sit down, take time to plan ahead for as many possible situations as possible and clearly define them amongst your drivers. That’s really what they have to do,” he advised.
“And even though some situations like this are just really hard to plan for, but it’s really their duty to do that.”
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