Will Buxton and Nico Rosberg don’t share a particularly good relationship. They have no direct reason to be in conflict but got off on the wrong foot thanks to the latter’s “awkward” sense of humor. Now, coming into 2024, Buxton goes down memory lane to recall one such incident involving the former Mercedes driver.
In the Red Flags Podcast, Buxton recently spoke about his previous encounters with Rosberg which affected their relationship. Animosity between them dates back to Rosberg’s GP2 days, when Buxton worked in the series’ PR department. The German driver once gave a very cold response to something Buxton said, which evoked a not-so-good reply from the latter.
“I think I called him a d*ck to his face,” revealed the British journalist. “I just kind of had enough and I was like I’m not even gonna try and talk to this guy anymore because he’s just a d*ck!”
The rift between them escalated to such a level that Buxton thought about assigning a different correspondent to conduct Rosberg’s interviews. However, it wasn’t possible, because Buxton’s job demands that he gets along well with all the drivers he is supposed to interview.
Nonetheless, the squabble died down between them once they matured and took responsibility for their own actions. “You’re in your early 20s and you just make up,” said Buxton on their loss of enmity. On a wholesome note, after Rosberg won the world championship in 2016, he sent Buxton a t-shirt as souvenir.
Will Buxton and Nico Rosberg’s faceoff in F1
Long before the aforementioned wholesome ending, Rosberg kept getting on Buxton’s nerves even after making it to F1. By this time, the 43-year-old was working in F1, and had several unusual interactions with Rosberg. It took Buxton some time, but eventually, he figured that Rosberg, who spoke six different languages, used his knowledge to manipulate the media.
“He [Rosberg] was such a smart guy,” said Buxton.
“He would say the same thing to every single TV crew. But he would say it in a different way. He would say exactly the same thing to the German and the British press. But he’d say it to the German press in a way that they would feel sorry for him. And he’d say it to the British press in a way that would make them hate him,” he added.
Admittedly, on one such occasion, Nico Rosberg, known for his witty takes, tried to pull off a similar stunt with Will Buxton. However, the latter threatened to withdraw from the interview. This led to the former Silver Arrows driver immediately putting his guard down and apologizing to him.
