The rivalry between Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton is categorised among the greatest rivalries in Formula 1.
In their 3 years together as Mercedes teammates, Hamilton and Rosberg became part of multiple controversies and collisions.
The duo, who were best friends during their junior years, experienced a fracture in their relationship as they stormed through the track to win the glorious trophy.
As tense as the rivalry between the two was, Hamilton ranked 4-time world champion Sebastian Vettel above Rosberg when it came to tough battles from an opponent.
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Lewis Hamilton thinks Vettel is a bigger challenge
During the 3 seasons of their rivalry, Hamilton prevailed as the champion twice until Rosberg finally defeated his arch-nemesis in the 2016 season. Although after clinching his first-ever title, Rosberg announced his retirement from the sport.
He was replaced by Valtteri Bottas in 2017 and Hamilton enjoyed his relationship with the Finnish driver as he said that ‘there were no mind games.’
In the 2017 season, the Briton was challenged for the title by Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel. As the season opened with the Australian GP, the 4-time world champion took the victory with Hamilton tailing him in P2.
After the race in 2017, Hamilton was asked if he faced a tougher challenge from Vettel than he did from Rosberg and he said ‘definitely.’ He reckoned that the best drivers of the sport were at the top in the 2017 season.
A battle for the ages ⚔️#OnThisDay in 2014, @MercedesAMGF1‘s Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg duelled in the desert 🇧🇭#F1 pic.twitter.com/u8JcGomtgp
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 6, 2020
Record-breaking 8th title
From his rivalry with Rosberg to winning 7 championship titles and breaking multiple records, Hamilton has come a long way in his 16-year-long illustrious career in F1 so far.
The 38-year-old was even on the verge of breaking yet another all-time record in the 2021 season by winning his 8th championship title but that season ended with a massive final race final lap controversy at the Abu Dhabi GP.
Still, Hamilton returned to the grid in 2022 hoping to fight for his record title but last year did not work out for the 7x world champion as Mercedes’ W13 turned out to be a problem child.
Heading into the 2023 season, the Briton now hopes to build on where he left off in the 2022 season and climb to the top and once again fight for the title.
