Nico Rosberg appreciates his Mercedes-GP bosses have endured a "very difficult" time handling his relationship with Lewis Hamilton this season.
The pair have dominated the competition, winning nine of the 10 races, and they set the pace again on Saturday in practice for Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix. Hamilton was fastest in both sessions, ahead of Rosberg.
Toto Wolff, the executive director of the Mercedes team, non-executive chairman Niki Lauda and executive technical director Paddy Lowe have been forced to contend with several issues between Rosberg and Hamilton.
The partnership threatened to explode over the course of the Monaco Grand Prix weekend in late May when Rosberg took pole but then ran wide on his final lap during qualifying, causing a yellow flag that Hamilton said was deliberate because it meant he could not set another fast time.
A one-two followed, with Rosberg taking the chequered flag ahead of a furious Hamilton, resulting in neither acknowledging the other during a tense podium ceremony.
Wolff and Lauda did well to keep the lid on that contretemps. There have been other niggles along the way, but for now there is a peace of sorts.
The championship has become a two-man race, with Rosberg 14 points ahead of Hamilton and everyone else far behind. The focus is so narrow that, with nine races still to run, plenty of opportunities exist for the rivalry to become corrosive.
Asked whether he felt there would have been more fireworks by now, Rosberg was cryptic with his response as he said: “You don’t know, maybe there have been more fireworks. There could have been.”
Pressed on the matter, Rosberg added: “Yeah, but I’ve forgotten.
“It’s always the same, it doesn’t change. It’s neutral, sometimes easier, sometimes with more difficult periods. You just work through the difficult ones and that’s it. It hasn’t really changed.”
For those in charge, though, Rosberg said: “It’s difficult, very difficult.
“We need to find a balance, because, in the first instance, we’re racing for Mercedes, representing Mercedes and wanting to do a good job for them … but there comes a point where you want to beat the other guy. It’s a fine line.”
Hamilton has won four of the past seven races at the Hungaroring, and he said today’s qualifying session will be imperative to deciding who is triumphant in tomorrow’s race.
“It’s going to be important to get a good grid position as it will be difficult to follow cars on this track and it’s always tough to overtake here,” he said.
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