Niki Lauda is confident that Nico Rosberg can bounce back despite losing out to team mate Lewis Hamilton in the last three races.
The Mercedes F1 boss compared the situation to his battle with Alain Prost at McLaren 30 years ago.
“Things happen, I had the same with Prost in the old days,” he told this writer. “No worries. He will work on himself, and improve. I’m not worried about him at all. He will come back.”
Lauda is adamant that there will be no team orders: “We don’t need to manage anything, just let them race. We only want to make sure there is no third guy involved. Then I’m happy. At the moment we are very well on the right track, but things can change.”
Meanwhile he’s delighted with the way Mercedes has started the season.
“It’s been a perfect operation, we can’t complain. Everything has worked out very well. But I have to say for a new start with new engines, new gearboxes and new cars for me the most outstanding thing is that all four races were won by Mercedes, three by Hamilton and one by Rosberg. This for me is the outstanding performance.
“If you are in a formula which is running for a while, and then you win a couple of races in a row, this is fine. But in this particular difficult year, this is the most outstanding job they did, the engine and car people.”