Tuesday 31 May 2016 11:39, UK
Mercedes have applauded Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg for their 'mature' response to their race-ending crash at the Spanish GP.
Hamilton and Rosberg held what the F1 world champion described as a conversation of 'pure respect' when they met in the Monaco paddock on Wednesday for the first time since colliding on the first lap in Barcelona.
The civility is in sharp contrast to events two years ago after Rosberg punctured Hamilton's rear tyre in the Belgian GP. After a heated internal meeting inside Mercedes, Hamilton told reporters that his team-mate had admitted to crashing on purpose as their relationship threatened to disintegrate.
Red Bull in front of Mercedes in Monaco practice
"It was dealt with very maturely by the two drivers," said team boss Paddy Lowe. "In Spa 2014 we found out what bad really looked like that but it was also good because we built a much stronger partnership. There's an understanding and we are in a lot better place now."
Asked about the accident, Lowe added: "It was a racing incident which was a function of the two guys pushing each other to the limit that was then exacerbated by the power difference between the two cars. It happened very, very quickly but we saw it as a racing accident and we've moved on."
Hamilton himself joked that the Mercedes drivers' calm response to the accident was a sign of "getting old". But the successful defusing of the potentially-volatile Barcelona fall-out is also likely to pave the way for Rosberg signing a new contract extension and his partnership alongside Hamilton extending into a fifth season.
"We have sixteen races to go, we have a long career of racing each other, we've done pretty well in however many races together at this team not to collide," said Hamilton. "You have to assume there will be more and we will do everything we can to avoid that but we are competitors and racing drivers. There is going to be lots of close racing, we just have to try our best to make sure there is nothing to damage a result."
