Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton billed 360k in Mercedes 2016 contract reveal

Barcelona 2016 was a critical flashpoint in the rivalry between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, as the teammates battled for the title.

It was also an expensive race for the Mercedes duo, as Rosberg has claimed that both he and Hamilton were left with a 360,000 bill to pay. Under the terms of their respective Mercedes contracts, any crashes between them were paid for equally to put right, out of their own pockets.

Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg billed 360k each for Barcelona crash

Hamilton and Rosberg first joined forces as Mercedes drivers in 2013. From the following year, they found themselves as title rivals.

Hamilton took the 2014 and 2015 crowns, but Rosberg struck back in 2016, at which point their rivalry had reached peak volatility.

Arguably the most memorable of their on-track dramas was Barcelona 2016. As Rosberg attempted to defend his Spanish GP lead from Hamilton on Lap 1, Hamilton went off the track, spun, and collected Rosberg in the sister Mercedes, eliminating them both from the race.

That left Hamilton and Rosberg with a bill of 720k to pay equally between them.

“I even had a contract that I had to sign, which said that if ever we crash as teammates, we split the bill, 50/50, us drivers,” Rosberg revealed on Sky F1.

“That was very expensive!

“We shared the Barcelona bill. It was 360,000, I remember that. That was just me. That was painful.”

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Martin Brundle, Rosberg’s Sky F1 colleague, reflected on how in Formula 1, the pursuits of individual success for a driver can, at times, juxtapose their responsibilities as an employee of their team.

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“We have a totally flawed model in Formula 1,” said Brundle. “It’s been the same all through the decades.

“You work for a team. You’re hired by a team. You’re contracted. And it’s very clear what you will do, as an employee, if you like, of that team.

“But you race as an individual, and you perform as an individual, and that is why it comes to blows. In the end, you can’t be best friends forever, can you. Something will go wrong.”

Rosberg announced his shock retirement from Formula 1 shortly after beating Hamilton to the 2016 crown in Abu Dhabi.

Hamilton, meanwhile, went on to win another four World Championships in consecutive seasons with Mercedes between 2017-20, taking his overall career tally to a record-breaking seven.

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