Berger: Rosberg must avoid Hamilton crash

Nov.26 - Nico Rosberg can't risk a crash with his teammate Lewis Hamilton on Sunday, F1 legend Gerhard Berger says.

Earlier this year, Berger advised the Mercedes driver during his negotiations for a new Mercedes contract, and now he is advising the German to stay clear of Hamilton in Abu Dhabi.

That is despite the fact that, in comparable situations, Michael Schumacher won the 1994 title by colliding with Damon Hill, while Ayrton Senna won in 1990 by taking out Alain Prost.

But Berger told Der Tagesspiegel newspaper: "Even if he is in front and closes the door, the risk would be too great that only Nico is eliminated and therefore he loses the championship.

"You can never control these things too well," he added.

Berger thinks a better strategy for Rosberg is simply to get around the "first corner and then take home second or third place".

But the former McLaren and Ferrari driver acknowledged the difficulty of Rosberg's situation, despite his points advantage.

"I think he is in an extremely difficult situation mentally," said Berger.

"It is really very difficult to resist the temptation to attack, but he should reduce the risk. He also has to choose his strategy so that neither Ferrari nor Red Bull get in his way."

Rosberg will have to keep "all eyes in the mirror and immediately open the door if someone attacks, as he cannot afford a failure", he added.

But Berger also said he thinks Rosberg is up to Sunday's challenge.

"In the last races, he has shown strong nerves, especially in the rain in Brazil which was a brutal challenge. I also trust that he can be at least third in Abu Dhabi," he insisted.

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