Nico Rosberg Reveals He Once Paid $472,000 for ‘One of Collisions’ With Lewis Hamilton

In his appearance on the ‘Business of Sport’ podcast earlier this year, 2016 F1 World Champion Nico Rosberg was asked if he ever had to pay for damages caused by his crashes in Formula 1. And it turned out that he did actually once have to pay six figures (approximately $472,000) for one of his crashes with Lewis Hamilton and he described the experience as “very painful”. Rosberg and Hamilton partnered up at Mercedes between 2013 and 2016.

With no competition from other teams, Hamilton and Rosberg became the ultimate rivals, going hard against each other and even coming to blows several times during their championship years. While Rosberg didn’t specify which crash he was referencing, it could be their infamous crash on the opening lap of the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix (considering the hefty amount they paid).

“Because Lewis and I crashed, eventually the team made us pay for the damage… So I remember how much I paid. It was £360,000 (roughly $472,000) that I paid for one of those crashes,” Rosberg revealed. The crash in Spain was a significant moment in the team’s history as it made them realize that they couldn’t let such a situation develop between their drivers in the future.

Mercedes had a strategy to keep Rosberg and Hamilton from crashing

After struggling to keep their two drivers from crashing into each other for most of their time together, Mercedes eventually came up with a plan to force them into staying clear from each other as Rosberg explained. The team made them both sign a contract that if and when they crashed in the future, the team would take the cost of repairs from their pockets.

“We had to sign a contract that from now on if we crash, it doesn’t matter whose fault it is, we pay for the damage,” Rosberg added. When asked to clarify if this was any crash or specifically a crash between him and Hamilton, Rosberg noted, “Only if we crash with each other”.

Eventually, Rosberg did end up beating Hamilton to the championship in 2016 after two crushing defeats in previous seasons, and mere days after his triumph, he announced his retirement as he believed it to be the “perfect end” to his career and their rivalry.