Toto Wolff, Mercedes Formula 1 CEO and team chief, told The Athletic he was prepared to sack Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg during their heated 2016 intra-team rivalry after repeated on-track collisions.
Wolff said he rang Dieter Zetsche, chief executive officer at Mercedes‑Benz, and had the drivers temporarily told by email that they were not part of the team to stress that crashes endangered the brand and factory workers' livelihoods. He said the incidents directly affected the lives of about two and a half thousand factory employees.
Wolff added he could not definitively apportion blame and warned that if incidents continued he would dismiss one driver despite risking a wrong decision; Nico Rosberg won the 2016 championship and retired shortly after.
This report is based on information originally published by Motorsport.
Read the full article at Motorsport.
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