F1 News: Rosberg beating Hamilton in 2016 created long fued

(GMM) Nico Rosberg says his past “feud” with Lewis Hamilton is now basically all in the past.

When teammates between 2013 and 2016 amid Mercedes’ 100 extra HP domination of Formula 1, the former boyhood friends fell out badly and for years were not on speaking terms.

2016 Word Driving Champion Nico Rosberg celebrates on the podium after defeating Lewis Hamilton at the 2016 Abu Dhabi GP. Defeated Lewis Hamilton looks on – Großer Preis von Abu Dhabi 2016, Sonntag. Photo Supplied by Mercedes

Rosberg, now 39, retired from F1 after beating Hamilton to the 2016 title. Jacques Villeneuve thinks the German is an example of a driver who is happier in retirement.

“Take Nico Rosberg, he was happier not racing. That’s just not the same level of passion,” said the 1997 world champion, comparing Rosberg with Hamilton.

Appearing on the NDR Talk Show, Rosberg revealed that Hamilton now showers his daughters with presents each Christmas. The pair live close to one another in Monaco.

“It’s true that my daughters are fans of Lewis. It’s a big problem!” Rosberg joked. “He always gives them presents at Christmas – usually Barbies. It’s very nice of him.

“It’s actually really cool. We used to have a bit of a feud, but now every Christmas both of our daughters have huge boxes of presents at their door. Lewis has to stay outside,” Rosberg joked again, “but he can leave presents!”

Meanwhile, well-known artist Paul Oz revealed that Hamilton commissioned a painting of himself driving a Mercedes F1 car that he then had copied on a limited basis as a parting gift to the team’s more than 1000 staff.

“The original hangs in Brackley,” Oz confirmed. “No copies will be available for commercial sale, sorry.”

History

While they were teammates at Mercedes in an era when they had a reported 100 hp advantage, Rosberg and Hamilton recorded 31, 1-2 finishes. Rosberg peaked in 2016 when he pipped Hamilton to the title by five points – just hanging on as the Brit won the final four races – and stepped down after that, to be replaced by Valtteri Bottas.

‘It happened immediately when we were fighting for the World Championship, not before,’ Rosberg previously told Eurosport of the breakdown in relations. ‘But that’s always the case. When you’re fighting for success in every race and for titles, it doesn’t work anymore.

‘It was a build-up from one race to the next. If you want to decide the world championship for yourself, you can’t play “love, peace and harmony”.

‘You have to test limits and go into gray areas to win, especially when two drivers are at such a high level. Then it often gets tight.’