The notion of Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton coming to blows was never hypothetical, it was always a matter of when it would take place.
That it should transpire on the second lap of the first race following the summer break – borne from four weeks of festering tensions and a lingering sense of uneasiness – was poetic.
Human beings can be fickle creatures. With a target in sight, for which they have dedicated so much time and resources, they are prone to single mindedness.
The irrational becomes rational, all consideration for the implications of an action or a sequence of actions are neutralised.
Rosberg came to Belgium with an 11-point cushion over Hamilton – nowhere near enough to feel comfortable, not least with the season finale essentially accounting for two events.
When the 29-year-old made a poor getaway from pole position, and when he saw Hamilton fend off Sebastian Vettel into Les Combes, he saw just four points separating the pair heading to Monza.
Yet, one lap later, the German enjoyed a good entry into and up Eau Rouge, through the Raidillion and along Kemmel, to sit right on Hamilton’s tail. This represented his best, and possibly only chance to alter that trajectory.
On this principle, Rosberg’s actions in planting his W05 alongside the Briton on the outside exiting Les Combes – and remaining there, where the Briton was expecting clear space – are completely understandable.
The result – Rosberg lacking his right-front wing endplate and Hamilton nursing a destroyed left-rear – while clumsy, and ultimately terminal for the latter, was dismissed as a racing incident.
Judgements are altered upon after-the-fact revelations, events are viewed in different contexts. This was no different on Sunday at Spa-Francorchamps.
The reception encountered by Rosberg as he stepped onto the podium, having salvaged second place, was indicative of this.
Hamilton’s post-race remarks, that the German “said he did it on purpose and said he could have avoided it… he said he did it to prove a point”, are hard to draw conclusions from.
As the individual who lost out and who stands to lose the most in the championship equation, he is going to be emotional. His history of being outspoken in the heat of the moment serves to further confuse the matter.
Niki Lauda and Toto Wolff both condemned the outcome, but for entirely different purposes to the 2008 World Champion.
Lauda said, “I thought they were clever enough to know that (not to jeopardise each other) but obviously they aren’t,” and made clear his belief that Rosberg was at fault.
Wolff shared similar sentiments, remarking, “this is an absolutely unacceptable race”, but later differed in his take on Rosberg’s culpability, saying, “he could have avoided crashing but didn’t (hit Hamilton) make a point.”
From this, Mercedes’ primary concern lies in the very real threat of sabotaging their own campaign, rather than assessing what took place as an isolated incident.
Rosberg was the architect of the collision, but viewing it objectively, no malice was intended. He simply made a poor decision in a crucial moment, as Michael Schumacher did most notably in the past.
It’s now imperative for both protagonists to focus on the next race, instead of allowing the incident to swallow the hard work which had them in such a dominant position. Heads will roll if they squander the initiative, as was the case with McLaren in 2007, and right now, they need to address the issue with an iron fist.
For the record, Daniel Ricciardo won the Belgian Grand Prix, the Australian enjoying his second victory in succession and the third of his campaign.
He lies 35 points adrift of Hamilton, and will be watching the next chapter very keenly.
Bayden Westerweller
Roar Guru
No doubt there is always the potential for Ham & Ros to have scored more, as was the case last weekend, but it shows if their results had been the same and Ric didn't have a nightmare start he'd be even closer than he already is compared to the rest.
Colin N
Guest
Sort of irrelevant when you consider the amount of points Hamilton and Rosberg have lost through mechanicals and incidents etc. If it was just down to pace Mercedes would get a 1-2 every time. Fortunately it isn't just about pace.
Bayden Westerweller
Roar Guru
It's never going to happen if they're right in the thick of a championship battle i.e. enjoying a slender lead as Rosberg is, and if teams have the pocket of the FIA, they'd threaten to bail if a sanction was applied, which the sport can ill afford, so it's unlikely to happen.
bob ross
Guest
its the 3rd German racedriver in a row Schumacher ,Vettel and now Rosberg instead of winning races ,they use other means to get their points secured . FIA should deduct points for such actions ,to make it non attractive to do so .
Bayden Westerweller
Roar Guru
Cheers, there's no doubting Hamilton's talent, but he's doing himself no favours or for his image by wasting time moaning.
sennaQLD
Guest
Petulant ,yep thats the one,top read
Bayden Westerweller
Roar Guru
It was anything but lazy in the moment, there's never a moment to be lazy in F1, but in retrospect, looking at the wider picture, it was pretty average form on Rosberg's part, not that Hamilton couldn't have done a little more. Regardless, Hamilton's ranting whenever something goes wrong, and his constant "I give up, we should park the car" demeanour does come across as petulant, he's going to get nowhere with words over actions if he wants the title that badly.
Simoc
Guest
It's easy to say that it was lazy afterwards. Notice Alonso do an identical lazy effort on Vettel at the end destroying his front wing but not Vettels tyre. It hasn't even rated a mention nor did I hear of it being investigated. Hamilton could have given Rosberg room because he knew he was there. This has happened so many times to Hamilton in the past but normally Massa is in the other car. Hamilton goes straight into a tantrum . He just has to shut up and drive the wheels off the Mercedes. If it comes down to either winning because of the farcical double points last race, that would get the other ones blood boiling. But more accidents between these two are on the horizon .
Bayden Westerweller
Roar Guru
Cheers Jawad. Yep I fully agree on you re-Brundle, Nico was fairly clumsy, but it's done now. It's incumbent on Merc to nip the wider issue of trust in the bud - entailing the "let them race" philosophy, and re-focus on the ultimate goal. Really, you would hope that two grown individuals could be sensible, but sometimes the logic goes over their heads. As I said in response to Mark, for them to concede at least the drivers' title would be insane considering where they were at the start of the season. Hoping for a Williams victory, it would be one of the stories of the season. Or another Ricciardo triumph, if he won again, he would be a genuine title threat - on pure momentum more than anything.
Bayden Westerweller
Roar Guru
Mercedes really does need to address this now, to be so dominant and end with no or just one of the titles would be criminal. Nico really should have committed fully if he wanted to make the move stick, rather than hanging around to see what eventually happened. But as I said, people do stupid things sometimes, everybody just has to move on. Would love to see a Williams victory, in my previous piece I predicted a victory at Spa or Monza, with third last weekend, if one or both of the drivers have a strong Saturday, it could be happening especially with the Merc pair brawling!
Bayden Westerweller
Roar Guru
Indeed Mark, not to mention the 12 lost due to the botched stop at Malaysia...
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Great article Bayden! I have to agree with Martin (Brundle) and Mark here that Nico's move was very 'lazy'. Everyone seemed pretty rosy up until Monaco when the psychological warfare begun between the two of them and it's not as if coming into these final seven races of the season they're not going to escalate the tension. Do Mercedes AMG now enforce a stricter policy than their current one of 'letting the drivers race' after what transpired on Sunday? It would not at all be surprising if they did, as a team their only objective is to secure the maximum points available at every race and this as Lewis, Niki and Toto said post-race could have easily been a one-two. Monza will be the definitive test of their wits now. It's a circuit we know that they will easily dominate with their superior performance, but with the way sparks are flying at the moment, will we see a one-two finish there? Williams and Valtteri Bottas are in the perfect position with their car to be in the frame to win the Italian Grand Prix if this sort of incident repeats itself.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Great article Bayden! I have to agree with Martin (Brundle) and Mark here that Nico's move was very 'lazy'. Everyone seemed pretty rosy up until Monaco when the psychological warfare begun between the two of them and it's not as if coming into these final seven races of the season they're not going to escalate the tension. Do Mercedes AMG now enforce a stricter policy than their current one of 'letting the drivers race' after what transpired on Sunday? It would not at all be surprising if they did, as a team their only objective is to secure the maximum points available at every race and this as Lewis, Niki and Toto said post-race could have easily been a one-two. Monza will be the definitive test of their wits now. It's a circuit we know that they will easily dominate with their superior performance, but with the way sparks are flying at the moment, will we see a one-two finish there? Williams and Valtteri Bottas are in the perfect position with their car to be in the frame to win the Italian Grand Prix if this sort of incident repeats itself.
Mark Young
Roar Guru
"With a target in sight, for which they have dedicated so much time and resources, they are prone to single mindedness." That is it in a nutshell, spot on Bayden. You also capture the very real risk that Mercedes could cost themselves the drivers championship with the third man slipping through, circa McLaren 2007 and Williams 1986. I'm really unimpressed with Nico's effort into that corner, it was at Brundle said, really half hearted and lazy. But he is leading the WDC and the next race is but 12 days away. Betting on Bottas or Massa to stage a shock Williams victory!
Mark Young
Roar Guru
All of a sudden those 18 points Ricciardo lost at Albert Park become monumentally important.
Bayden Westerweller
Roar Guru
I don't think many people counted on Rosberg being so capable and so resilient under pressure, and Hamilton's true colours are showing as a consequence! We really do need a straight fight between the pair, but that might not be possible as a result of the last few events, who knows what could happen between now and Abu Dhabi. Daniel Ricciardo stands to gain a lot if it turns to the proverbial, yet it won't be as though he doesn't deserve whatever comes his way. Vettel himself is being found out big time this season with the looser rear end, the planted style of the previous era cars certainly played a huge role in the dominance he exerted. One has to wonder how Webber would have fared if he was around at the moment.
Frankie Hughes
Guest
It's quite clear that once Hamilton knew Mercedes had the best car in 2014, he assumed he'd walk to the title. Whereas Vettel was capable of totally destroying Webber. Hamilton has never been on top of Rosberg in such manner. Now that Rosberg's on top, Hamilton is clueless as to what to do.
Bayden Westerweller
Roar Guru
Honestly, whilst Vettel & Webber got hot under the collar, they could have nothing on Rosberg & Hamilton if things continue to escalate.
Mike from Tari
Guest
Just look at Vettel & Weber, enough said.