Yesterday at 13:50
2016 F1 champion Nico Rosberg has warned McLaren that its drivers
may turn into "assassins" as they get closer to achieving their
dream of winning the title. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have
been the two protagonists in this year's championship fight, with
little to choose between them throughout the campaign. Piastri
stretched out his lead over Norris last month after the latter
retired from the Dutch Grand Prix with an engine failure. Last time
out at Monza, a slow pit stop for Norris saw him drop behind
Piastri in the dying laps before his position was reinstated
through a team order. While both are still willing to play the team
game, Rosberg suggested that may not be the case as the season
enters its final rounds. "McLaren has been a bit lucky that their
two drivers are not yet proper assassins," Rosberg told Sky F1 .
"They're just getting there, but they haven't arrived yet. That's
what's been holding up the whole situation so far. "The intensity
still lies ahead of us, because the world championship, it's so
big. It's your childhood dream that's at stake there. "It's so
huge, and they're going to be fighting every weekend, so there's
still plenty of action ahead of us." At Monza, Piastri complied
with the team order despite some initial objections to the
instruction. Rosberg highlighted the importance of McLaren running
through every possible scenario with its drivers to avoid meeting
an unforeseen circumstance and escalating tensions in the coming
rounds. "These are horrible situations," he added. "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. "Some
situations like this are just really hard to plan for, but it's
really their duty to do that."
