Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has revealed that, in 2016, he hatched a shocking double-firing of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg with the pair at the height of their Formula 1 rivalry.
The Brit and the German spent four seasons together at the German marque, three of which saw them go toe-to-toe for the World Championship.
After a 2014 season, edged by Hamilton, full of needle, 2015 proved to be a continuation, with Hamilton coming out on top once again.
And in 2016, things began to get even more heated, as the pair were involved in two high-profile incidents in both Spain and Austria.
In the former, Hamilton and Rosberg clashed on the opening lap, handing a maiden win to a then-18-year-old Max Verstappen.
And at the Red Bull Ring, the pair collided once again, this time on the final lap, as Rosberg tried to desperately defend his lead, but coming off the worst, as he crawled to fourth place, with Hamilton managing to win, despite also suffering damage.
It was after this particular event when Wolff took decisive action, revealing all in an interview with The Athletic.
“You’re representing the Mercedes brand, and you just have to accept that it’s not all about you,” he said.
“So, fact: they are competitors. We accept the competition. We accept them racing against each other as long as they respect certain red lines. And that is very simple: don’t crash into each other.
“And I have never had any fear of making that very clear. In 2016, [Nico] Rosberg and [Lewis] Hamilton crashed, and then they crashed again. So I fired them.
“I called my chief executive officer, Dieter Zetsche [Daimler chairman], and said, ‘Listen, you need to sign something.’
“And he called me back and said, ‘You’re making both drivers redundant?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, because otherwise they won’t understand how important it is to the interest of the brand and the team above their own.’”
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Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg's intra-team battles culminated in this moment in 2016 👀#F1 #AustrianGP pic.twitter.com/HvW3dIDHNa
‘You’re not part of the team’: Sensational Hamilton/Rosberg exchange explained
Austria proved to be the final time the pair would clash, and their rivalry continued without any significant repercussions.
What followed the decision to fire both men was a crunch meeting, in which he admitted to them that he was not acting in judgement to the apparent cause of the crash, but reminded them of the hard work of those at the Brackley HQ brought to the team.
“It was their personal rivalry that took over,” Wolff said. “And from a healthy competition, it went to a rivalry and it became animosity.
“And that’s just not something I would allow in the organisation, and based on these factors, we sent them an email and said, ‘At the moment, you’re not part of the team.’
“On Wednesday, we called them and said, ‘Come in tomorrow,’ and I said, ‘My problem is that I don’t know whose fault it was.’ Because it’s nuanced.
“Like everything in life, it’s never 100% wrong. It may be 50-50. It might be 51-49. It’d be 70-30. And I can’t judge.
“And so what I said to them is that if it happens again, one has to go, and I may make a mistake. I may send the wrong one away.
“People who need to repay their mortgages who work in the factories, what do they think? That you two crash into each other because you don’t like each other?
“And it directly affects the lives of two and a half thousand people. Who do you think you are? And that’s an important understanding that you need to have with your drivers.”
The title was sewn up by Rosberg at the final round in Abu Dhabi, finishing second to Hamilton, who won the race.
It would mark the finish of their fraught and fierce rivalry, as Rosberg announced his retirement from F1 within days of his title win.
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