THE GLOVES ARE OFF
L
et’s face it has been borderline
cringe-worthy, the ‘bromance’
that developed between Lewis
Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel as it
became evident that they were the
main title contenders for this year’s
Formula 1 World Championship crown.
The show of mutual admiration,
and back slapping is now a thing of
the past thanks to the widely reported
incident between the two during an
action packed and chaotic Azerbaijan
Grand Prix – and Mercedes chief Toto
Wolff is not fussed that the rivalry has
now been seriously ignited.
After the race in Baku, Wolff said
candidly, “Nobody wanted to see
the schmoozing anyway, so now the
gloves are off. The sport needs the
rivalry. What we have seen is the
ingredient of a great championship.”
“They are warriors. They are
at war at that moment. They are
fighting for the race wins and the
championship. At a certain stage, the
best ones that compete for the world
championship in that phase of their
careers can’t be friends. Maybe we’ve
seen the limit of that respect,” ventured
Wolff
The incident in question took place
during an incident packed, chaos filled
race and the penalty meted out to
Vettel was for a swerve at Hamilton as
the Ferrari driver drove alongside and
swerved at the Mercedes in a show of
anger... make that road rage.