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Nico Rosberg says George Russell can’t afford to “just be the nice guy” in his rivalry with Mercedes F1 teammate Lewis Hamilton.
The incident between Hamilton and Russell at Turn 1 during the Qatar Grand Prix resulted in Hamilton getting stuck in the gravel and Russell falling to the back of the field. Prior to this collision, the Mercedes drivers had several close calls in the previous race in Japan. Nico Rosberg, who had a fierce rivalry with Hamilton in the past, believes Russell needs to keep the pressure on Hamilton. Rosberg hopes that Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is managing the situation carefully and not allowing it to escalate. He acknowledges that this is a difficult situation for Russell, as he needs to push and not just be the nice guy. Rosberg sees Hamilton’s admission of fault for the Qatar clash as a big win for Russell. He also believes that Wolff’s absence from the race in Qatar was not ideal, as he is the only person who can effectively manage the situation. Rosberg suggests that when Wolff returns, he should individually sit down with both drivers and ideally have a discussion with them together.
Source: Crash
