25 Years Later, Nico Rosberg Isn’t Over Lewis Hamilton

Having shared one of the fiercest rivalries in F1 history with Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg rarely misses out on a chance to talk about his former teammate. One half of the infamous ‘Silver War’, Rosberg reminisced his time with Hamilton, but this time, in a positive light.

Racing Hamilton since he was 13 years old, Rosberg butted heads with his future rivals while karting as well. Even then, the two drivers were teammates, with Hamilton having the edge over Rosberg. Addressing the same 25 years later, Rosberg credited Hamilton’s superiority to his natural ability while speaking at the Technical University of Munich Speaker Series.

“He [Lewis Hamilton] is just an incredible talent, really. And when it comes to Go-Kart, it’s really, the natural ability that counts more than anything. And he would have that half a percent more in natural ability.”

As their careers progressed, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg went from being best friends to sworn enemies. Both drivers made it a goal to outperform each other, no matter the cost. The competitiveness of both drivers gave way to one of the most iconic rivalries in the history of F1.

 

nico rosberg calls ex-teammate and childhood friend lewis hamilton “the greatest of all time” and talks about his experiences karting with lewis as children, saying he has a natural ability for racing. pic.twitter.com/sNXl5dtCbq

— hourly brocedes (@brocedesinfomat) June 12, 2024

Rosberg would have the last laugh in the chapter as he won the 2016 world championship. Pipping Hamilton out by five points, the German promptly announced his retirement from the sport, never to return. Many believed that the rivalry between them would continue off the track, but a shocking revelation by Rosberg changed the game.

Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg are back to being good friends with each other

Fighting for the world championship caused a huge dent in the friendship of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. Having been teammates right from their teenage years, the two drivers couldn’t stand each other and would even end up crashing into each other out on the tracks. Things got so heated that Mercedes had to step in with a unique proposition to keep the two at bay.

 

Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg in the same frame pic.twitter.com/yjOPvlZBbb

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The Management at Brackley decided to penalize the drivers for their crashes by making them pay for the damages. However, even that didn’t work as well as the Silver Arrows hoped, with both drivers continuing to battle. It looked like the damage to their relationship was beyond repair, but things have since taken a positive turn.

As reported by Sports Illustrated, Rosberg revealed in February 2024 that he and Hamilton had mended their relationship. The two now meet up with each other from time to time, spending quality time together. Furthermore, Rosberg also revealed that his daughters receive a box full of gifts from Hamilton each Christmas.