Toto Wolff, team boss at Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team, told The Athletic he formally fired drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg in 2016 after they repeatedly crashed and sent redundancy papers to then‑Mercedes‑Benz CEO Dieter Zetsche for sign‑off.
Wolff said Zetsche hesitated, which led him to reconsider and ultimately not deliver the walking papers; instead Mercedes called both drivers in and warned them that a further incident would cost one of them their seat.
Wolff cited a series of collisions that included a last‑lap crash at the Austrian Grand Prix as the tipping point and said drivers represent the Mercedes brand and must respect “red lines,” notably not crashing into each other.
The incident occurred amid the intense 2016 rivalry between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, during a season of close competition in Mercedes’ dominant car.
This summary is based on coverage by Jalopnik.
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