Prost says atmosphere at Mercedes has changed

Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg battle at Spa.

Four-time champion Alain Prost believes the team dynamic at Mercedes has changed since Nico Rosberg collided with Lewis Hamilton at the Belgian Grand Prix.

Hamilton has taken four consecutive victories since the collision and built a 17-point lead over his team-mate in the championship with three races remaining.

During his career, Prost was involved in head-to-head title battles with team-mates Niki Lauda and Ayrton Senna while at McLaren and admits team principal Ron Dennis occasionally backed one driver over the other.

"Ron was very strong, but he has always shown a small preference," Prost said. "I had the advantage at one stage – but you do not realise exactly when you have it – when I was with Niki. But then when I was with Ayrton we had a thing and he [Dennis] always showed a little thing [for Ayrton]. Not the team but Dennis himself."

While Prost does not think the shift at Mercedes this year is as blatant as Dennis was, he believes the team dynamic has changed since Rosberg apologised for the collision at Spa-Francorchamps.

"I don't know what is happening now after Spa, but it looks a little bit strange," Prost added. "I don't know if you can say preference, but something has changed a little bit. The dynamic has changed.

"You can feel it, you don't see it. And with a feeling you don't know if it's true, but when you are inside the team if you can feel something – true or not true – when you start to feel something you have lost."

Prost said that once a driver gets an idea in his head it can become very difficult to manage it.

"Only a small detail can change the atmosphere. I always say that the people around you are very, very important. The people around you, and then obviously the press and the media at the end, but not at first. If you feel just a small thing inside the team – that you could have the preference or something different – then it can destroy yourself. Everything you want is in your head and it's very difficult to manage that." ESPN UK