Relationship cools for Mercedes duo despite triumph in Monaco

The atmosphere on the podium was positively poisonous after Hamilton finished runner-up to Rosberg, with the German securing back-to-back lights-to-flag wins around the streets of the principality to end the Briton’s run of four successive wins.

Forget a polite nod of acknowledgement or even a terse ‘well done’, there was not even a glance from one to the other at any stage.

It was as if they were complete strangers rather than Mercedes colleagues who had just secured a record-equalling fifth one-two.

Without doubt Hamilton appeared thoroughly outraged at what he saw as an injustice during qualifying when Rosberg, on provisional pole, out-braked himself into Mirabeau in the closing stages.

The resultant yellow flags then thwarted Hamilton’s bid for pole as the 29 -year-old following behind was on a quicker lap and would likely have claimed top spot on the grid.

Although Hamilton was rarely more than a second off Rosberg from the start of the blue-riband race, for the first 60 out of the 78 laps he did not have a single chance to overtake.

A problem with his left eye then saw him fall behind the German and almost into the clutches of Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo who hounded Hamilton over the closing stages, but the Australian ultimately had to settle for third.

After the podium, the post-race press conference was equally frosty, with Hamilton refusing to answer questions with regards to the nature of his relationship with Rosberg.

Later in the day, and with his mood having softened, it was a far different Hamilton that was involved in a separate press briefing.

Asked whether there was anything he needed to clear up with Rosberg, he replied: “No, not really.

“We’ve sat down and cleared whatever air was needed to be cleared, and we’ve been through the data and seen what needed to be seen. I wish you guys could see it.

“Otherwise, we’re good. It was a difficult weekend, but what doesn’t break you will make you stronger. I can only get stronger for this weekend.”

Pressed to expand on the nature of the data, Hamilton said: “I saw something late last night (Saturday). All I could do was smile.”

As to whether Rosberg’s actions in qualifying were deliberate – and he was ultimately cleared by the race stewards –Hamilton said: “Look man, the weekend’s done and dusted.

“We’ve a one-two for the team, so let’s just focus on moving forward. and I plan to be stronger in the next race.

“We’ll continue to do what we do, work with the team. The team is the priority and that’s what we have to keep in front.”

With Mercedes 141 points clear of Red Bull in the constructors’ title race, and with the duo romping clear in the drivers’ standings – with Rosberg again four points ahead – Hamilton would like to believe the season is “running successfully”.

However, he added: “It is never going to be perfect because we’re fierce competitors.

“You can never expect us to be best friends and compete as fiercely as we do, but we will remain respectful – or I will try to remain respectful.”

As for Rosberg’s take on his relationship with Hamilton, he said: “It’s fine.

“We’ve had discussions, and the benefit we have is we’ve known each other for so long.

“We always sit down, discuss and then move on, and that’s what we’ve done this weekend.”

Behind the podium trio, at the end of a race that included two safety car periods and saw eight retirements, Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso was fourth, followed by Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg.

McLaren ended their run of three races without a point with Jenson Button sixth and team-mate Kevin Magnussen 10th.

One of the highlights, though, was Jules Bianchi’s ninth place, which giving Marussia their first points in F1 in their 83rd race.

For team principal John Booth, the Yorkshireman had a double reason to celebrate with Rotherham United promoted to the Championship after their League One play-off final win over Leyton Orient.

“I’m absolutely over the moon – amazing!” said Booth.

“We mustn’t diminish Jules’s role in all this. He drove a fantastic race, never gave up. Back of the grid and two penalties as well, but he kept pushing.

“On Thursday after practice I thought we had a chance of a strong race, but we knew we still needed some things to happen to allow us to take the chance.

“After qualifying, and then the penalty for the gearbox and starting last, it didn’t give us a lot of hope. But this helps us with our aim of securing 10th in the championship. That’s very important.”