The battle has been constantly compared to that of Ayrton Senna and Alain
Prost, but does it now resemble it fully? “Essentially,” Hamilton said. He
added: “I don’t know if Senna and Prost sat down and talked it out. I quite
like the way Senna dealt with it, so I’m going to take a page out of his
book.”
The 2008 champion did not make clear specifically what he was referencing.
But one measure Senna took was to deliberately crash into Prost at the first
corner in Suzuka in 1990, after he felt he had been dealt an injustice in
qualifying.
We will have to wait to see precisely what Hamilton meant, after Mercedes
cancelled their usual media briefing while they were called to the stewards
to discuss the incident. The whole affair will be a major headache for
Mercedes, as they seek to control their drivers with emotions running high.
The drama unfolded with just seconds remaining in the session. Before their
last runs, the German was marginally ahead and held provisional pole
position. But on his final, banzai effort, Rosberg locked up at Mirabeau and
went straight on into the escape road, before reversing up the run-off area.
The resulting yellow flags were enough to prevent Hamilton from bettering his
previous effort, although he was convinced that pole position would have
been his.
“I was on target,” the 29-year-old said. “I remember starting the last lap and
saying, ‘this is it, this is going to be the lap.’ I was two and a half
tenths up and didn’t get to finish it.” Rosberg was ecstatic, punching the
air, but Hamilton offered no handshake and barely made eye contact as they
posed for the cameras.
Daniel Ricciardo, who was sitting next to the Mercedes pair after qualifying
third, summed up the atmosphere: “I think all three of us don’t seem to be
too pleased with ourselves.”
Earlier in the afternoon hordes of fans of Justin Bieber, so-called
‘Beliebers’, gathered to catch a glimpse of the pop star by Monaco’s famous
harbour, but Hamilton appeared in no mood to believe Rosberg’s version of
events or accept his apologies.
Not even looking across at his rival, Hamilton said: “I don’t have an answer
to it.” The whole incident echoed the 2006 qualifying session here, when
Michael Schumacher was sent to the back of the grid after deliberately
obstructing Fernando Alonso’s final qualifying effort.
Eight years ago Rosberg’s father Keke called Schumacher a “cheap cheat” and
declared that he should be thrown out of the sport. On that occasion, the
discretion was obvious for all to see. This incident was far less clear cut,
with opinion divided but marginally erring in Rosberg’s favour.
Niki Lauda, Mercedes’ F1 chairman, said there was “no doubt at all” that it
had been a genuine mistake by his driver. Wolff added: “I don’t know if he
[Rosberg] reversed on track, but I think qualifying was over anyway.
“I don’t think anybody does that deliberately in modern Formula One.”
More bluntly, Wolff described the idea that Rosberg’s actions were underhand
as “bull****”.
The stewards agreed, deciding that it was a genuine driver error on the
German’s part after all.
Elsewhere, Ricciardo beat Sebastian
Vettel for the fifth time this season, while the Ferraris were fifth
and sixth, but there was only one thing on anyone’s mind in the Monaco
sunshine.
Before qualifying had even begun, the psychological warfare which has so far
peppered the weekend was in full flow. Earlier in the week Hamilton said he
had a “different hunger” to Rosberg on account of the German’s privileged
background.
On Saturday he added: “The last few years you have seen certain people you
never thought would win it [the Monaco Grand Prix], even though you think
they are nowhere near as good as you.”
It is certainly plausible that this was directed at Rosberg. Regardless, the
animosity between the two exploded dramatically after the events of the
final minute of qualifying.
The tension will be almost unbearable as the Mercedes pair line up one and two
on the grid. Quite what Hamilton meant by his “taking a page out of Senna’s
book” we will discover as the two go haring towards Sainte Devote after the
five red lights have gone out.