Lewis Hamilton has confirmed that team mate and Championship rival Nico Rosberg are still friends after a difficult Monaco Grand Prix for the pair. The issue was sparked in Q3 when Hamilton was adamant that Rosberg had gone down the escape road on purpose. Hamilton who was on course for pole position had to abandon the run which handed Rosberg pole and set him on course for victory. Hamilton who avoided Rosberg post Qualifying and post race said that him and Rosberg weren't friends but colleges and rivals. This strangely was contradictory to the German who said that they were friends and had been for many years. This implemented that Hamilton was clearly annoyed by Rosberg, leaving the F1 pundits in a political gold mine. But today nearly a week on from Monaco Hamilton released a statement on Twitter reading:"We've been friends a long time&as friends we have our ups&downs. Today we spoke&we're cool, still friends #noproblem"After waiting for the aftermath of the race to sink in Hamilton decided to talk to Rosberg after saying previously that he "liked the way Senna dealt with his situation with Prost" insinuating that he had no intention of talking over things. Many people have accused the Brit of causing the relationship so have gone sour. But many fail to realise that Hamilton and Rosberg need to distance themselves while this battle goes on because they are rivals as well as friends. With the Hamilton-Rosberg battle the the term "Keep your enemies close" might be a good one for the 2 Mercedes drivers to keep in mind.
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Mercedes-Benz were involved in a DTM PR event which Formula One driver and World Championship Leader Nico Rosberg, Merceds DTM driver Pascal Wehrlein and German World Cup footballers Julian Draxler and Benedikt Howedes attended ended in disaster as a spectator and marshal were hit (leaving one seriously hurt) by Pascal Wehrlein's car. It is reported that a spectator walked onto the track followed by the marshal. Rosberg spotted the impending accident and slammed on the brakes causing the second car to take avoiding action hitting the 2 people. The Mercedes statement read "An accident occurred during a visit to the training camp of the German National Football Team: while driving on a closed circuit, DTM driver Pascal Wehrlein injured two people whom he unexpectedly encountered walking on the closed course. We cannot offer any statement concerning the severity of injuries, as both injured parties are currently undergoing medical treatment. Pascal Wehrlein was uninjured in the accident. We deeply regret this accident and send wishes of quick recovery to the injured. We will work in full cooperation with the authorities in determining the exact circumstances of the accident." Rosberg took to social media site Twitter to wish the 2 men a full recovery. An inquiry by the Italian police is now underway to understand how the spectator managed to get onto the track. Nico Rosberg reignited his championship challenge after another dominant drive in Monte Carlo for the second year in succession. It was a critical Win for the German who ended Lewis Hamilton's run if 4 successive race wins. It was quite an easy race for the German who was rarely troubled by the Brit, who had a bizarre incident when he got something in his eye meaning he was driving with only one eye for a few laps which cost Hamilton precious time and allowed Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo to pressure Hamilton right at the end. It was another mature drive from the Aussie who took his second podium in a row and his first in Monaco. Buy a poor start dropped him to 5th but a power loss for team mate Sebastian Vettel and a puncture for Kimi Raikkonen took him back to 3rd. It was another terrible day for Raikkonen as back marker Max Chilton hit the Ferrari dropping him down the field before a move on Kevin Magnussen left them both in the wall needing the Ferrari a new nose. Which paves the way for Marussia and Jules Bianchi to score their first points in F1! Not even a 5 second penalty could stop the team for claiming 9th despite finishing 8th. This moves Marussia above Sauber who missed an opportunity themselves but Esterban Gutierrez showed his inexperience and he clumsily hit the barrier at Rascasse. There was 2 safety cars as Perez hit Jenson Button at Miraboe and Adrian Sutil lost his car under braking hitting the wall at the Nouvelle Chicane. Despite the contact on lap 1 Button and McLaren scored their first points since Malaysia along with Kevin Magnussen. Romain Grosjean scored points again for Lotus and Maldonado proved many wrong as he failed to crash over the whole weekend! But it was Rosberg who reclaimed the championship lead but an unhappy Hamilton is confident of victory as the F1 circus moves to Montreal one of Hamilton's best tracks. Now Rosberg-Hamilton is very much Prost-Senna. Bring on Canada!! 1. Nico Rosberg 2. Lewis Hamilton 3. Daniel Ricciardo 4. Fernando Alonso 5. Nico Hulkenberg 6. Jenson Button 7. Felipe Massa 8. Romain Grosjean 9. JULES BIANCHI!! 10. Kevin Magnussen 11. Marcus Ericsson 12. Kimi Raikkonen 13. Kamui Kobayashi 14. Max Chilton Esterban Gutierrez DNF Valtteri Bottas DNF Jean-Eric Vergne DNF Adrian Sutil DNF Daniil Kvyat DNF Sebastian Vettel DNF Sergio Perez DNF Pastor Maldonado DNS Nico Rosberg returned to pole position after an anti climax in Monte Carlo. The German was in a close battle of pole with team mate and Championship leader Lewis Hamilton until on the final Q3 runs Rosberg locked up going into Mirabo causing him to leave the track down a escape road. The incident bought out yellow flags and Hamilton had to abandon his final run. The incident granted the 2013 pole sitter his second of the season and back to back Monaco poles. The F.I.A. investigated the incident but took no action. Rosberg's incident wasn't the only at Mirabo with Marcus Ericsson pulling a crazy manoeuvre on Felipe Massa putting both drivers into the wall. This lead to ironic clapping from the 2008 pole sitter. Torro Rosso's Daniil Kvyat also hit the wall on the exit of the tunnel in Q1 which whiped the ugly nose off the Russian's car. Sebastian Vettel had some more bad 2014 luck as he was struggling for electrical energy from his K.E.R.S.. But it was another stella performance from Daniel Ricciardo to be best of the rest starting 3rd. The Ferrarsi and McLarens Kevin Magnussen showed good improvement with solid Q3 times but Jenson Button, Nico Hulkenberg, Valtteri Bottas and Romain Grosjean all missed out on Q3 as both Torro Rosso's sneaked through. Sauber had another day to forget with both cars out in Q1. But the fight between the two Mercs will be red hot in Monte Carlo as the inter team battle increases. Turn 1 will be interesting indeed! Race starts at 13:00 UK time live on Sky F1, BBC highlights at 5:00. 1. Nico Rosberg 1:15.989 2. Lewis Hamilton 0.059! 3. Daniel Ricciardo 4. Sebastian Vettel 5. Fernando Alonso 6. Kimi Raikkonen 7. Jean-Eric Vergne 8. Kevin Magnussen 9. Daniil Kvyat 10. Sergio Perez 11. Nico Hulkenberg 12. Jenson Button 13. Valtteri Bottas 14. Romain Grosjean 15. Pastor Maldonado 16. Felipe Massa 17. Esterban Gutierrez 18. Adrian Sutil 19. Jules Bianchi 5 PLACE GEARBOX PENALTY TO BE APPLIED 20. Max Chilton 21. Kamui Kobayashi 22. Marcus Ericsson PITLANE START AFTER Q1 CRASH Lewis Hamilton can breathe a sigh of relief after once again he overcame immense pressure from his team mate Nico Rosberg to take his first win in Spain and he takes the championship lead going into Monaco. It is the first time in Hamilton's career that he has one 4 races in a row. In similar situations to the Bahrain GP Nico Rosberg opted to go for the prime hard compound tyre at the first stop whereas Hamilton went for the option medium compound. This left Rosberg with the mediums for the final stint. The two drivers were trading lap times as Rosberg slowly caught Hamilton but in the end he ran out of laps. Hamilton never seemed to be comfortable in the race as there were problems with the front wing and the differential as well as radio miscommunication. Joining the two Mercs on the podium was an overjoyed Daniel Ricciardo who took his first podium in F1. It was a good drive from the Aussie who managed to convert from a three stop strategy to a two stop which allowed him to take a podium opportunity from the Williams of Valtteri Bottas and team mate Sebastian Vettel. It was an excellent drive from the 4 time world champion as he finished 4th after starting 15th. It was a poor show by the Ferrari's after Kimi Raikkonen was lapped and Fernando Alonso was way off the pace. It was a slow burner of a race but late battles took the tension to another level. But it was the world champions who won those battles. It was an impressive drive from Romain Grosjean as he scored Lotus' first points of the year. The same couldn't be said for team mate Pastor Maldonado who once again was involved in a collision with Marcus Ericsson earning the Venezuelan a 5 second stop go penalty. It was a dissapointing day for Force India as they finished 9th and 10th. The Torro Rosso of Jean-Eric Vergne and Caterham's Kamui Kobayashi retired with an exhaust and brake by wire failure. The McLarens again go home pointless after another torid day of racing. But as we head to Monaco in 2 weeks time Lewis Hamilton will be looking to extend his championship lead on a track where the Hamilton-Rosberg rivalry will be tested to its limit. 1. Lewis Hamilton 2. Nico Rosberg 3. Daniel Ricciardo 4. Sebastian Vettel 5. Valtteri Bottas 6. Fernando Alonso 7. Kimi Raikkonen 8. Romain Grosjean 9. Sergio Perez 10. Nico Hulkenberg 11. Jenson Button 12. Kevin Magnussen 13. Felipe Massa 14. Daniil Kvyat 15. Pastor Maldonado 16. Esterban Gutierrez 17. Adrian Sutil 18. Jules Bianchi 19. Max Chilton 20. Marcus Ericsson DNF Kamui Kobayashi DNF Jean-Eric Vergne Lewis Hamilton made a big stamp of authority with his 35th F1 pole. The Brit snatched pole from his team mate Nico Rosberg after Rosberg seemed to have the edge over Hamilton until the balances turned in Q3 and Hamilton managed to take pole by 2 tenths. It seemed to be going against Hamilton in Spain after a mistake in Q1 turned the tide. Hamilton wasn't the only one to make a Q1 error as Pastor Maldonado made a big mistake in turn 3 leading to a one way ticket to the wall. After what had seemed to be a good day for Lotus as Grosjean put one of the best laps of his career to take 5th place. Daniel Ricciardo showed how quick he is with 3rd place on the grid but still a second of the 2 Mercs. However Sebastian Vettel had another day to forget with a gearbox issue leaving him stranded at the start of Q3. Valtteri Bottas also pulled another lap out of the bag with a second row start. The McLarens again struggled in the hot weather as Kevin Magnussen didn't set a lap time in Q2 due to a power unit problem but Jenson Button just sneaked into Q3 after a tyre gamble in Q2 paid off. Jean-Eric Vergne's 10 place grid penalty will drop him to last on the grid after he didn't go out in Q2. It was another disappointing day for Sauver's Adrian Sutil as he was knocked out in Q1 once again. Home favourite Fernando Alonso was out qualified by team mate Kimi Raikkonen for only the secon time this season. But for tomorrow with the longest run to the first corner of the season a good start is going to be so important. Tyre wear is also going to be critical as we could see a 4 stop race for the second year in a row. Lights out is at 13:00 UK time.
1. Lewis Hamilton 1:25.232 2. Nico Rosberg 3. Daniel Ricciardo 4. Valtteri Bottas 5. Romain Grosjean 6. Kimi Raikkonen 7. Fernando Alonso 8. Jenson Button 9. Felipe Massa 10. Sebastian Vettel 11. Nico Hulkenberg 12. Sergio Perez 13. Daniil Kvyat 14. Esterban Gutierrez 15. Kevin Magnussen 16. Jean-Eric Vergne 10 PLACE GRID PENALTY TO BE APPLIED 17. Adrian Sutil 18. Max Chilton 19. Jules Bianchi 20. Marcus Ericsson 21. Kamui Kobayashi 22. Pastor Maldonado NO TIME SET |