Daimler chairman and head of Mercedes-Benz Dieter Zetsche has branded Mercedes’ current driver line-up of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg ‘the perfect couple’.
Whilst the pair have endured a strained relationship of late due to various on track clashes, which has even led to warnings from team boss Toto Wolff that they may face the chop, Zetsche is satisfied as long as they continue to win.
“As long as Lewis wins races he can organise the rest of his life, as long as it is within the scope of our brand values, as he wants to,” Zetsche told Auto Express.
The German made it clear that he has no problem with Hamilton’s celebrity lifestyle outside of Formula 1 and believes the fact Hamilton and Nico Rosberg are at the opposite ends of the spectrum, makes them perfect team-mates.
“When you look at the relevance of his personality and the social networks with 12 million followers and so on, what can we wish for more than a rock star? He’s the fastest on the track and that’s perfect.
“At the same time we have the other guy who’s as fast and has a very different lifestyle with a family and a kid. These are the two bookends and I think we are really very lucky to have them, they are the perfect couple, absolutely.”
Meanwhile Zetsche is keen to see Mercedes’ rivals up their game in 2016 to ensure his team faces a harder time securing the championship.
“We want to win,” he added. “Preferably in the last race by two points. But this is not our task to reduce the gap, but the task of our competitors.”
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