Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton have a strained relationship at best. The childhood friends faced many flashpoints during their time together at Mercedes, with Hamilton taking the pair out of the race at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix, and then backing the German into the pack in Abu Dhabi.
Despite this, Rosberg has pressured the FIA to resolve the Red Bull budget cap breach, with the situation being ‘horrible’ for Hamilton.
The Brit was on the brink of his eight and record breaking world title when, in controversial circumstances, Max Verstappen overtook him on the final lap, snatching the title at the death.
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“The horrible thing in this is that the Championship was decided by a gap of one second on the last lap of the race.
“So the whole Championship was so tightly contested. To have this come about now is just horrible.
“I don’t know how they’re going to figure this out, it’s not good,” said Rosberg.
With Hamilton missing out on the title in such heart breaking fashion, it must sting even more to learn that Red Bull overspent on their way to victory, potentially influencing the outcome.
Rosberg has urged the FIA to come to a conclusion and punish Red Bull accordingly, admitting it could be a lose-lose situation for them.
“What was done with the extra money that was used? Was it to buy sandwiches or was it do develop the car with one extra upgrade?
“It’s so difficult to judge from the outside and that needs to be taken into consideration.
“I think it’s best that we have to wait and be patient. For the FIA, it’s a really a lose-lose situation.
“If they take away points for last year’s championship, that would be really bad for everybody.
“But if [Red Bull] did a serious cost cap breach and it really gave them a performance advantage – if they don’t go in hard and aggressive then it’s another lose-lose.”
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The FIA and Red Bull have postponed talks over their punishment, following the tragic passing of their owner Dietrich Mateschitz, however talks are expected to resume mid-weeks.
“I hope that the FIA find the fine line and get it right, we need to wait and see though,” concluded Rosberg.
Whilst it looks unlikely that a points deduction will be part of Red Bull’s punishment, a reduction in CFD and wind tunnel testing time might give Hamilton the advantage he needs to challenge Verstappen again next year for his record breaking title.