Wolff was ready to fire Hamilton and Rosberg in 2016.

      In an interview with The Athletic, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff revealed that he was ready to fire Hamilton and Rosberg during their rivalry in 2016...

      Toto Wolff: "Drivers need to understand that they represent the Mercedes brand, that it's not just about their personal feud. We are aware that they are rivals, we allow them to compete as long as they follow a simple rule – not to collide with each other.

      I have mentioned this several times, and in 2016, when Rosberg and Hamilton crashed and then collided several times, I was ready to fire them. I called the chairman of the board of Mercedes, Dieter Zetsche, and said, 'You need to sign something.'

      He called me back and asked, 'Are you going to fire both drivers?' I replied, 'Yes, because otherwise they won't understand how much the interests of the brand and the team are more important than their own.'

      At that moment, they were only thinking about their fight with each other. Healthy competition turned into rivalry and then into hostility. I couldn't allow hostility in my company, and we sent them an email stating, 'At this moment, you are not part of the team.'

      Then they came in, and I said, 'My problem is that I don't know whose fault it was. It's always a delicate question. It's not the case that one person is 100% to blame. It could be 50-50. It could be 51-49 or 70-30. And I can't judge. And therefore, if it happens again, someone will have to leave, and I might make a mistake. I might fire the wrong one.

      Our staff at the base, who need to pay their mortgages, what should they think? That you two are colliding because you don't like each other? Your fight directly affects the lives of two and a half thousand people. Who do you think you are?'

      This is an important understanding that the team needs to convey to its drivers."