Retired 2016 Formula 1 World Champion Nico Rosberg gave insight into what it took to finally beat his childhood friend turned nemesis, Lewis Hamilton. to win the title before walking away from the sport late last year.
Rosberg told the Daily Mail in a recent interview, “I got more aggressive because too often in the past he had walked all over me. I had to watch the videos and make improvements.”
And he admitted that watching Hamilton scoop two F1 world titles during their time together at Mercedes was a tough pill to swallow, “The anger is bigger if that person you know so well does something that crosses the line.”
“Lewis is very good at going to the edge without going outside the grey area, thanks to his skills in the car. He is smart, very, very smart. I found it harder to go wheel-to-wheel. For him, it comes naturally.”
“Lewis is very good at going to the edge without going outside the grey area, thanks to his skills in the car. He is smart, very, very smart. I found it harder to go wheel-to-wheel. For him, it comes naturally.”
“For me it is more rational. I have to work at standing my ground. I got more aggressive because too often in the past he had walked all over me. I had to watch the videos and make improvements,” added Rosberg who walked away from Formula 1 five days after winning his first world championship title.
The German began his F1 career at the 2006 Bahrain Grand Prix and since then made 206 starts, won 23 grands prix and was on the podium 57 times.