Toto Wolff stepping aside as team boss could have a “spiralling effect” on Mercedes, Nico Rosberg has warned.
The Austrian is yet to commit to the German manufacturer beyond 2020 and has hinted in recent weeks at, at least, a shuffling of the pack that would see him pass on some responsibilities.
At the same time, some have made a link between the uncertainty over Wolff’s future role and Lewis Hamilton, who is also yet to re-sign for Mercedes in 2021.
And Rosberg does think that connection is genuine.
“I do think it matters,” he told Sky Sports at the Nurburgring. “Lewis is very convinced that Toto is an integral part of the success of that team, which is true because Toto absolutely is, and it’s not guaranteed that if Toto goes and there is a new leader that the stability remains.
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“Also, if Toto goes it could potentially be a spiralling effect, so that many of the team leaders in the leading positions say, ‘OK it’s the end of an era, Toto’s going, I loved to work with him, let’s also move on to something new’. That could be a really bad turn of events for the team.”
On another topic, Rosberg, who of course defeated Hamilton to become world champion in 2016, believes the Briton is currently vulnerable after the events of Sochi and urged Valtteri Bottas to capitalise.
“That’s the weakness Lewis has, sometimes he can lose his momentum and he can dip down, and he’ll stay down for a couple of races,” he told the British broadcaster.
“So if Lewis really is in this period now – which we don’t know yet, we’ll see how tomorrow [the race] goes – then Valtteri needs to be winning and maximise those points because it’s the only opportunity you get and the only chance you have to compete with Lewis.”
Currently, Hamilton leads Bottas by 44 points in the championship, but the Finn put himself in the best place to make it two wins in a row with pole for the Eifel Grand Prix.
“That lap from Bottas out there was fantastic,” Nico said. “I looked it at and it was like, perfect and under all that pressure!
“That’s exactly the message he needs to send Lewis’ way: ‘This is not over yet, I’m still in the championship fight’.
“If he can continue that [in the race], that would be great.”
