Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg were best friends once upon a time but it is tough to find love between the two today. They became fierce rivals after joining Mercedes and competing in World Championships, and the animosity between them kept growing.
Hamilton outperformed Rosberg for the majority of their time together as teammates at Mercedes. Rosberg only managed to outshine him in 2016 when he held Hamilton off to win his first and only World Title. After winning that season, he announced his retirement from the sport, because he wasn’t able to cope with the stress anymore.
Nico Rosberg on what it’s like being Lewis Hamilton’s teammate 🐐 pic.twitter.com/J90Cv32BTL
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) September 6, 2021
Even after Rosberg retired, his relationship with his former best friend didn’t improve. He stated that he was open to rekindling their friendship, but Hamilton was not interested whatsoever. Rosberg taking occasional digs at the 7-time world Champion didn’t help and Hamilton often responded savagely to them.
In a YouTube video for BBC Newsbeat, the Stevenage-born driver actually admitted that he would rather have neck pain than have Rosberg with him again.
Nico Rosberg is a lot like neck pain, says Lewis Hamilton
Hamilton was choosing between options presented in front of him by the host of BBC Newsbeat’s video. When the time came for him to choose between Rosberg or neck pain, he instantly said that he would go for the latter.
Of course he followed it by saying that he already has neck pain but savagely added that it was a lot like Rosberg. The host of the show asked him if they behaved differently off camera, since on the track the animosity between them is generally very high.
WATCH: Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg crash out on the opening lap of the #SpanishGP https://t.co/RINJfGuHNp pic.twitter.com/YprPKKZGYZ
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) May 15, 2016
Hamilton replied by saying that after they finish races, they do shake hands and show respect to one another. He feels that it is the right thing to do, for the better of the team.
Also read: Lewis Hamilton ranks rivalry with this F1 driver as his favourite
Rosberg is not Hamilton’s favorite rival to race against
Hamilton has plenty of rivals in F1 ranging from Fernando Alonso to Max Verstappen. However, he does not rank either of them as his favorite opponent to compete against. For fans of the Rosberg-Hamilton rivalry, it will come as a disappointment that even his inter-Mercedes rivalry isn’t something he ranks at the top.
The 37-year-old chose Sebastian Vettel as his favorite rival. Battles between Hamilton and Vettel were a regular feature between 2016 and 2019 when the four-time World Champion was with Ferrari.
Unfortunately for fans of the two, there won’t be any tussles between them anymore, since Vettel announced his retirement from the sport after the end of the 2022 season.
