2016 F1 champion Nico Rosberg was Lewis Hamilton’s fiercest rival during their 4 years together as teammates. Fighting for the title, the relationship between the duo became so volatile that there were many on and off-track confrontations between the two.
One of the most famous incidents was when Rosberg threw his cap at Hamilton in the cool-down room at the 2015 United States Grand Prix.
While it was widely seen as an act of aggression, the German driver had said at the time that he was just playing games with the Briton.
Nico Rosberg still angry at Lewis Hamilton
The reason behind Rosberg throwing his cap at his teammate was that at the start of the race he was shoved by Hamilton at Turn 1.
Rosberg had started the race from the pole and he was leading the race until the last 10 laps. At turn 13, the German went wide and Hamilton easily drove past him and won the race. This win also marked Hamilton’s 3rd championship title.
After the race, Rosberg had held a big gush of wind responsible for him going wide. The Turn 1 incident had no direct impact on his loss anymore but he was still angry at his teammate and he threw a cap at him.
Recently, F1’s official page reshared the video of the incident and in response, a fan commented that Hamilton pushing his rival outside at Turn 1 in COTA is such a classic. To which, Rosberg replied with angry face emojis.
Capping off a title fight in dramatic fashion back in 2015 😮💨#USGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/pTXCg56u7C
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 19, 2022
Comeback year of Rosberg
After having multiple intense battles with Hamilton for the past 3 seasons and failing to beat him at the championship, Rosberg once again tightened his seat belt in the 2016 season.
But that season was going to be different than the previous one. His peak performance came to light right after the 2015 USGP.
Rosberg went on to win the remaining three races of the season and when he returned in 2016, he went on to win the championship showing that Hamilton can be beaten in the same car.
Though, only a few days after his title win, Rosberg announced retirement from the sport taking home his one and only championship trophy.