Rosberg hits back at Wolff’s ‘vicious one’ claim

NICO ROSBERG has responded to Toto Wolff’s description of him as ‘the vicious one’ by saying the animosity around his rivalry with Lewis Hamilton can no longer hurt him. Wolff, the Mercedes team principal, claimed in a Sportsmail interview on Saturday that both drivers played ‘psycho games’ during three often acrimonious years as team-mates, but that Rosberg was a bigger schemer than Hamilton. Rosberg retired soon after winning the championship last season but his relationship with Hamilton appeared to remain frosty. However, Rosberg, 31, said: ‘This chapter is closed for me. It’s funny because it just doesn’t affect me any more. I won my battle. I just hope we can laugh together again one day.’ As for Wolff, Rosberg insisted they have a professional relationship, saying: ‘I know what he really thinks of me. Last Tuesday, we collected 600,000 Euros for blind children at a charity event together.’ Meanwhile, Wolff has insisted that Hamilton is in the ‘best place’ he has ever been during his five years at Mercedes, adding: ‘Not only because he had a great weekend in Montreal but because he is coping so well with the difficult days. ‘This is what the very best are made of. When the fight gets tough, they get over it quickly and maximise their opportunities. ‘When you have a bad day, you can either be downbeat about it or pull yourself up and start to act on it. This is what we have done. We moved on and these are the days that make you progress much more than the good days. ‘Every time we’ve had a difficult weekend, we have come back stronger. And that speaks volumes for the people in this team.’ Hamilton got his championship challenge firmly back on track after a crushing performance in Montreal, which culminated in his sixth victory at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. The 32-year-old Briton will now look to overcome the demons of his last visit to Baku after he crashed out of qualifying and finished only fifth. The 2018 calendar was released yesterday. It contained a triple header — the French, Austrian and British Grands Prix — and a free weekend for Le Mans, allowing Fernando Alonso and possibly others to take part in the 24-hour race. The Azerbaijan Grand Prix will move forward to late April, with the Russian GP pushed back to September as the first part of a back-to-back sequence with the Japanese GP. The races in China and Singapore remain subject to confirmation. Mar 25, 2018: Melbourne, Australia. Apr 8: Shanghai, China. Apr 15: Sakhir, Bahrain. Apr 29: Baku, Azerbaijan. May 13: Barcelona, Spain. May 27: Monaco. Jun 10: Montreal, Canada. Jun 24: Paul Ricard, France. Jul 1: Red Bull

Ring, Austria. Jul 8: Silverstone, Great Britain. Jul 22: Hockenheim, Germany. Jul 29: Hungaroring, Hungary. Aug 26: Spa, Belgium. Sep 2: Monza, Italy. Sep 16: Singapore. Sep 30: Sochi, Russia. Oct 7: Suzuka, Japan. Oct 21: Austin, USA. Oct 28: Mexico City, Mexico. Nov 11: Interlagos, Brazil. Nov 25: Yas Marina, Abu Dhabi.