How Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg move forward after "Hat-Gate" F1 incident

It is so easy to say or do the wrong thing in a fleeting moment, or to see something out of context and for it to escalate into a problem in a relationship.

When it comes at a moment of high emotion or stress, then the effect is magnified and if on top of that the eyes of the world are on you via a live TV camera, it's compounded because suddenly everyone has an opinion on it.

Such is the context for the infamous "Hat-Gate" episode in the cool down room at the US Grand Prix after Nico Rosberg failed to win a race that was his for the taking and Lewis Hamilton not only grabbed the win and with it his third F1 world title, but then tossed a Pirelli cap to Rosberg with '2nd place" written on the side.

Rosberg threw the cap back at Hamilton, who perhaps realised he'd maybe been a bit tactless, but wasn't minded to give anything away to his team mate.

So here is some context for what happened and some considerations on where this goes from here.

Background

Hamilton had scored 100 points in the five races up to Austin to Rosberg's 48 as the German lost his grip on the title battle. Instead Sebastian Vettel moved in front, partly due to two retirements for Rosberg in Monza and Sochi.

The latter was Rosberg's race; he had looked most likely to win it until the car broke.

So Hamilton had the easiest of tasks to clinch the title, either in Austin or in Mexico. Hamilton was very aggressive at the start, insisting on the move into Turn 1 after getting the better initial getaway off the line (again). They touched and Rosberg went off the road and dropped to fourth. He got his own back by moving ahead later and overall drove a better race than his team mate, with one important exception.

Rosberg was stronger in Austin on race day on both intermediate and slick tyres and had the race won until the second Safety Car gifted Hamilton a new set of tyres with 10 laps to go. Rosberg should still have won, but he ran wide and gave the win to his team mate.

It summed up his season and he knows that he is up against it now to find a way to make himself a stronger competitor. He's had his chances this year and has only taken them occasionally instead of every time.

So in the cool down room he was deflated. But he still did the magnanimous thing and got up when Hamilton entered and congratulated him with words and a hug.

Hamilton clearly appreciated the gesture.

Overcome with emotion at realising his life's ambition of three world championships, Hamilton wasn't sure what to do with himself. He spent some time crouched, his head in his hands, then went about the mundane tasks of preparing for the podium, his mind no doubt swirling with euphoria and a massive sense of relief.

He tossed the 2nd place cap to Rosberg and the 3rd place cap to Vettel. Rosberg wasn't looking when he did this and the cap landed on him. He took it as a hostile gesture, a gesture of hubris from Hamilton and threw it back at him. He probably felt more aggrieved as he'd been so generous in his congratulations a few moments earlier.

It was only when he went on the podium that he realised from a few boos that rang out that he'd not done the right thing.

In the press conference room he looked put out and totally deflated. The longer it went on, the longer the two multiple champions sitting to his left grated, as they compared notes on what it's like to win the third title compared to the two before.

Rosberg sat there, a man with a world title-worthy car who can't get close to winning one title, let alone three.

"I was just pissed off, " he wrote this week. "At myself, at Lewis, at the whole situation. Everything!

"I'm not talking about losing the world championship, because Lewis deserved that this year. But Lewis didn't win the race in Austin. I lost it.

"If you can explain a mistake, there is no problem. But at the moment it feels as though there is something invisible stopping me from succeeding. An enemy that is so hard to combat. Some call it fate, others bad luck."

Vettel, as always, sensed the mood of the moment and paid credit to Hamilton, on several occasions referring to it as "Lewis' day", but hinting that he plans to spoil the Englishman's fun next season if Ferrari can build him a fast enough car.

Rosberg had plenty of time in that long conference to think about his race and his actions. He is not a man given to acts of petulance, so by now he probably regretted throwing the cap and if he's seen it back he will see the context was not what he thought.

Where do they go from here?

Rosberg has called for an private discussion with Hamilton and the bosses to discuss the move into Turn 1. This no doubt relates to protocols for close combat on track put in place after the collision in Spa last year and probably reviewed after Turn 1 in Suzuka this year.

"There are internal rules in our team," Rosberg said, "And I kept to those rules. Lewis did not. He went much too far.

"That's why I threw back the cap which he had tossed over to me, landing on my belly. We are sportsmen but we are also human. We are under tremendous pressure all weekend."

For his part, Hamilton has turned the screw by saying that, "I can understand in many respects how it is. It's the worst thing to be my teammate.

"I guess when you come in after the race and are disappointed, the emotions are sometimes unbearable. I don't take anything from it. I've seen Nico in lots of different lights over the years."

The fact is that last season Rosberg hit a high, especially in qualifying, which many people didn't believe he had in him. He usually gave something away to Hamilton in races, especially in close combat.

This year he lost the qualifying battle and was rarely on the front foot, with exceptions like Spain. He lucked into the Monaco win when Hamilton and the team messed up timings on strategy. That was the bitterest pill for Hamilton to swallow, but one of very few this year in comparison to Rosberg.

Rosberg has had a wonderful year in his personal life with the birth of his first child, a daughter. But he's had a poor year professionally. So which Nico Rosberg will we get in 2016? The one with fire in his belly like 2014, or a bitter driver who feels second best, like in Austin?

Does Rosberg have another gear in him to go up to? It's a key question. He's had his moments this year, where he had the chance to stamp his authority on a weekend, but has only got half the job done and not finished it.

Meanwhile having achieved his life's ambition Hamilton will probably relax now and be even more effective. Rather like Michael Schumacher did after 2000 when he achieved his goal of winning the championship for Ferrari. He relaxed and went up to a whole new level.

Rosberg has another year left on his contract and if 2016 is a repeat of 2015, as it's likely to be, then he may wonder whether he should stay around banging his head against the same wall all the time or move on.

He will be reluctant to give up a winning car, but the situation won't be healthy long term if he cannot beat Hamilton.

Meanwhile Mercedes will be keen to ensure that Max Verstappen doesn't slip through their hands and end up at Ferrari. The next battleground between the two teams will be over his services. On the face of it the Dutchman is locked into his Red Bull/Toro Rosso contract to the end of 2017.

That timing could work for Mercedes, with an extra year for Rosberg in 2017, while Ferrari would need to persist with Raikkonen for another year if they felt they were getting Verstappen in 2018. They may move for Ricciardo for 2017 if not.

I suspect that the Verstappens have a good feeling with Toto Wolff and Mercedes and would like to move there, as Hamilton would probably retire a couple of years later. But Ferrari has a unique pull on a driver.

It's all in the future, but the battle for Verstappen will probably dictate what happens in the next few years for Rosberg.