Mercedes-GP teammate tussle adds intrigue to Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Renewal of feud between Mercedes-GP drivers brings needed spice to season finale at Abu Dhabi.

Nico Rosberg, top, and Lewis Hamilton do not see eye-to-eye on the Brazilian Grand Prix, which is not the first time this season or last that they have agreed to disagree. Mark Thompson / Getty Images

The most entertaining part of the Brazilian Grand Prix came not on the track but off it, in the post-race news conference.

Mercedes-GP teammates Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton took turns swiping at the other, each claiming and dismissing the other’s claim that they had been quickest during the race.

And while it felt like children arguing in the playground at times, it demonstrated just how competitive they are with each other.

Anyone worried that the Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix on November 29 would have nothing at stake once Hamilton won his third drivers’ title last month need not have worried.

Hamilton is desperate to beat Rosberg and Rosberg likewise.

The German driver wants to get the final word over his teammate before the winter break.

The two have been well matched on pace all year, and while Hamilton is deservedly the world champion for being more consistent, there is not much between them.

The 66-point lead over Rosberg is not a fair reflection on the German, who has had the worst of the luck with mechanical reliability this season.

The biggest shame is that they were not allowed to be creative in their strategies during their tussle in Brazil.

Hamilton, on realising overtaking the man in front with the same machinery as him was going to be nigh on impossible at Interlagos, if they both stuck to the same three-stop strategy, pleaded with the team to allow him to try something different.

Mercedes, though, stuck to their guns and it was clear Hamilton’s motivation waned later in the afternoon as he dropped farther back from Rosberg in the closing stages. Mercedes’ rules on team strategy have been consistent throughout the season – the car with track position gets the priority on strategy – meaning that the car behind will always have to pit at least one lap after his teammate: fresher rubber always means faster lap times as they offer more grip.

Hamilton has also benefited from this protocol. Rosberg ran close behind him in the races in Australia, China and Canada and was unable to alter his strategy on those occasions.

But, given that Hamilton had already secured the driver’s title and Mercedes long secured the constructors’ championship, what harm would it have done to loosen the reins and let the drivers race how they wanted?

For the past two races Hamilton has spent the entire race stuck behind Rosberg, claiming it was impossible to pass his teammate.

In Mexico he wanted to try a one-stop strategy, but was ordered to pit a second time; in Brazil he was told to stick to the plan of mirroring Rosberg.

Let us hypothesise what could have potentially happened in those races had the drivers been allowed to operate to their own devices.

A one-stop strategy in Mexico would not have worked for Hamilton as a safety car period happened soon after he had made his second stop.

Had he not pitted, he would still have had track advantage over Rosberg, but would have been on much older rubber and it is unlikely he would have prevented Rosberg passing him.

Brazil is more interesting, though, as it is harder to see what Mercedes could do as an alternative approach. Only a fourth stop for the super soft compound would have been an option, but that would have dropped him behind Sebastian Vettel’s Ferrari in the closing stages.

Ultimately, whatever Hamilton would have tried differently would not have worked.

Hamilton may have been slightly quicker in clear air, but not by much, and not enough to make up the extra 18-20 seconds an extra pit stop would require.

But the common theme in both scenarios is that it would have led to some excitement, whether it was Hamilton trying to hold off Rosberg on wearing tyres in Mexico, or charging around in Brazil, trying to overtake Vettel and pursuing Rosberg in Brazil.

It would certainly have been more fun than the procession that TV viewers and race-going fans had to endure instead. Mercedes are anxious to maintain team harmony, something that is not really going very well anyway, judging by the sniping between Rosberg and Hamilton post-race.

But, given how dominant they are at present, with 31 wins from the past 37 races, should they not be helping F1 by encouraging their drivers to race each other more fully?

Hopefully Ferrari, and maybe Williams and Red Bull Racing, can raise their game in 2016 and push Mercedes harder.

That really needs to happen because if the Mercedes management are going to continue to limit their drivers on strategy, then we could be facing more boring processional racing next year.

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