Hamilton says Rosberg trust may be gone after Belgian GP clash
Lewis Hamilton says he does not know how he can approach racing with Mercedes Formula 1 team-mate Nico Rosberg from now on, following their Belgian Grand Prix collision
The British driver's title hopes suffered a major blow at Spa-Francorchamps when he got a puncture after contact with Rosberg on lap two during an intense battle for the lead.
Analysis: Rosberg guilty, but not really a villain
Mercedes chiefs have pointed the finger at Rosberg for being too aggressive in attacking, while Hamilton revealed that the German confessed in a post-race meeting to having said he did not avoid contact to 'prove a point'.
Ahead of talks between the drivers and team management to sort out how the team responds to the situation, Hamilton said he was not sure if he could trust racing wheel-to-wheel with Rosberg any more.
"When you're out there you have to trust people to think with their heads and not do things deliberately," he said.
"But after that meeting I don't really know how to approach the next race."
Hamilton reckons there is no easy response for Mercedes management to take, and suggested that Rosberg's behaviour in Belgium may have been clouded by issues still hanging on from the Hungarian GP team orders controversy.
MERCEDES INTRA-TEAM WAR |
Hamilton: Rosberg said clash deliberate |
Wolff warns of Rosberg 'consequences' |
Rosberg says clash won't sour rivalry |
Hamilton baffled by Rosberg's driving |
"I can't imagine what the team would do now," he said. "We came in to this weekend with a really positive mind thought.
"I really was excited. We had eight races and we're close - there's only 11 points in it - and I thought it was going to be good for all of us.
"Good racing, I thought this was going to be a track that was going to be exciting.
"It's interesting because we had that meeting on Thursday and Nico expressed how angry he was [about Hungary]. I was thinking 'It's been three weeks and you've been lingering?!'
"He expressed how angry he was, and he literally sat there and said how angry he was at Toto and Paddy.
"But I thought we should be good after that, and then this result? It's interesting."
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