Nico Rosberg and Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton shared a heated rivalry, that culminated with their grueling battle for the 2016 World Championship. While Rosberg managed to win his maiden title by getting the better of Hamilton that year, there was one driver he didn’t want to come across on the track. That was Max Verstappen.
Rosberg’s main rival was Hamilton because the Briton was the only one driving a car capable of fighting him for the Championship. Verstappen, meanwhile, was driving a Red Bull, which although strong, wasn’t quite good enough to challenge the Silver Arrows. Still, Rosberg dreaded meeting him, especially at the 2016 Abu Dhabi GP.
After winning the Championship in the season finale, Rosberg said,
“First of all with Max (Verstappen), of all days, I thought today I am not going to see him. And there he was again. I have had him all over the last couple of races, so there he was again. And the team says to me that it is critical now to pass, critical for the championship“.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is Nico Rosberg shortly after becoming world champion in 2016.
Watch how Nico nearly had a breakdown because a teenager named Max Verstappen gave him intense battles in an inferior car during his debut year for Red Bull.
Before Nico decided to retire,… pic.twitter.com/daXIBZWTZq
— Marc | Formula 1 (@433_marc) April 30, 2024
Rosberg added that he was hugely relieved after everything worked for him in the end. He had to beat Hamilton by five points or more in the race and by winning, he ensured that happened.
Meanwhile, Max Verstappen finished the race at the Yas Marina Circuit in fourth. Rosberg’s praises for Verstappen are noteworthy as 2016 was the Dutchman’s first season with Red Bull. Soon, he would go on to dominate F1 on a level very few fathomed.
Max Verstappen’s dominance compared to Sebastian Vettel’s
Vettel and Verstappen are two of Red Bull’s greatest drivers ever. Between 2010 and 2013, Vettel won four World Championships, and Verstappen can now do the same, having already won three back-to-back Titles between 2021 and 2023.
What is extraordinary about Verstappen is that he has already managed to surpass Vettel when it comes to the total number of wins in F1. At the age of just 26, the Dutchman has won 58 races. Meanwhile, Vettel managed 53 wins throughout his illustrious career.
Vettel’s victories, however, were not as one-sided as Verstappen’s. The likes of Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso gave the German driver a tough time, and although he prevailed, he wasn’t unchallenged.
Verstappen meanwhile, won the 2022 and 2023 World Championships virtually unopposed. In 2024 too, with four wins in five races, the 26-year-old is coasting towards his fourth-consecutive Title win.
