The gloves are off for Hamilton and Rosberg

Rosberg has now regained the lead in the World Championship points table from Hamilton after winning at Monaco on Sunday after a controversial qualifying session the previous day.

After Rosberg went off the track during the last lap of qualifying, caution flags were brought out and Hamilton was unable to complete his final lap, which sealed Rosberg’s pole position.

Mercedes team boss Niki Lauda said Hamilton had accused Rosberg of going off track deliberately to ruin his pole chances. Lauda said Rosberg, who was cleared of any wrongdoing following an investigation by race stewards, had denied this to Hamilton on Saturday. Rosberg apologised for the incident and claims it was accidental, but Hamilton denies this. Following the race yesterday, the two drivers failed to acknowledge each other.

This incident comes at a time when tensions are already high due to the teammates close race for the title. When asked whether his relationship with Rosberg was ‘even more like Senna and Prost now’, Hamilton said after qualifying ‘Essentially.’ He went on to tell Sky Sports that he and Rosberg are ‘not friends’ but ‘colleagues’. Mercedes bosses have admitted that the atmosphere is very tense and that discussions between the drivers may have to take place in order to address the issue. 

See Hamilton's post-match interview here: