Wolff reveals he nearly fired Hamilton and Rosberg during 2016 rivalry

Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff has disclosed he took the drastic step of formally firing both Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg during the peak of their toxic 2016 title fight, threatening to remove one of them permanently if they crashed again. The team principal's extreme measure was a last-resort tactic to impose team discipline over the drivers' personal animosity, which had escalated into on-track collisions.

Why it matters:

This revelation underscores the extreme pressure and internal chaos within the dominant Mercedes team during its most successful era. Wolff's actions highlight the critical balance a team principal must strike between managing superstar egos and enforcing a culture that prioritizes the team and its hundreds of employees over individual glory. It serves as a stark lesson in conflict management at the pinnacle of motorsport.

The details:

• Wolff described the 2016 rivalry as evolving from "healthy competition" into personal "animosity," culminating in preventable crashes between the two Mercedes drivers.
• After repeated incidents, Wolff called then-Mercedes-Benz CEO Dieter Zetsche to authorize making both drivers redundant, a request that shocked the automotive chief.
• The Ultimatum: Wolff and the team sent Hamilton and Rosberg an email stating they were temporarily "not part of the team." They were later summoned to a meeting where Wolff delivered a clear threat.
  • He admitted he couldn't definitively assign blame for the crashes but stated if it happened again, one driver would be fired—and he acknowledged he might "send the wrong one away."
• The Rationale: Wolff framed the issue as a matter of respect for the wider team, telling the drivers, "People who need to repay their mortgages who work in the factories, what do they think? That you two crash into each other because you don’t like each other?"

What's next:

While Wolff's hardline approach ultimately restored order without having to follow through on the firing threat, the rivalry concluded with Rosberg winning the 2016 championship and then immediately retiring from the sport. The episode remains a defining case study in managing intra-team conflict in F1, demonstrating the limits of tolerance even for championship-winning talent when team stability is at risk.