The Hamilton-Rosberg rivalry is probably one of the fiercest in F1 history; Lewis Hamilton sheds light on it.
Lewis Hamilton is arguably the greatest F1 driver the world has ever seen. The British driver is a seven-time world champion and has the most number of wins and pole positions in F1.
Hamilton’s greatest rivalry is the one with Nico Rosberg. This rivalry started when they were teammates at Mercedes and were fighting for the World Championship.
Rosberg was a German racing driver who won his only driver’s title in 2016 beating his teammate Hamilton. Rosberg retired after winning the championship and never showed signs of returning.
Speaking at a talk show, Hamilton revealed his honest opinion about the rivalry. He said, “Our first race together he led each and every lap. I overtook him in the last lap to win the race, that’s when the rivalry started.”
Hamilton and Rosberg were best friends during their karting days but even then they were competitive on and off the track.
The Hamilton-Rosberg rivalry mainly started when Hamilton joined Mercedes to partner up with the German after leaving McLaren in 2013. Mercedes had a competitive car and both the teammates went up against each for the championship title in 2014, 2015, and 2016.
The relationship between the two drivers both on and off the track only got worse leading to Rosberg retiring from the sport only five days after clinching his first title in 2016. At that time Rosberg said that the pressure of racing Hamilton took a toll on him.
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Lewis Hamilton became the last man standing
When Mercedes gave Hamilton and Rosberg a car that could make them win championships both of them grabbed the opportunity with both hands.
Hamilton took the lead in the rivalry by winning the championship titles in 2014 and 2015. However, Rosberg gave him tough competition throughout the season. The German driver even took the 2014 championship to the final race.
In the 2016 season, Rosberg gave it all to win the championship. The 2016 season saw a change in the leader multiple times and it all came down to the final race in Abu Dhabi.
Toto Wolff talking about the 2016 Lewis Hamilton & Rosberg rivalry👇🏻
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🗣“I said…even though Susie and I might disagree about something it would never come into my mind to divorce. ‘And it’s the same with you Lewis’ I said ‘I don’t want a divorce…I want you in our car’”#F1 pic.twitter.com/ZCPdKj39lq
Hamilton needed to win the race and Rosberg need to finish 3rd or better. Hamilton led the race and Rosberg was P2. Trying to win the championship Hamilton tried to push Rosberg into the pack but was unsuccessful.
After a few days of winning the championship, Rosberg announced his retirement from F1 and left for good.
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