Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton has given his personal opinion on former teammate Nico Rosberg’s retirement.
After the 2016 season, Nico Rosberg announced his shock retirement from F1. After an intense rivalry with Hamilton, he won the WDC and rode off into the sunset with it. Hamilton never got a chance to beat a champion Rosberg.
So, is the seven-time champ still sour about that rivalry and the lack of revenge? The answer is no.
During the Monaco GP press conference, Hamilton reflected on the rivalry. He said that he had won many times against Rosberg. Hence, he isn’t bothered about Rosberg getting the last laugh over him, so to speak.
Asked about the rivalry, Hamilton said, “Not at all. That’s an assumption….I think any of us shouldn’t jump to assumptions.
“Honestly, I don’t really, I think I was told way ahead of perhaps you would have found out. I’ve been racing Nico since I was 13. There’d been plenty of wins. So, I never ever felt that… I didn’t feel any negativity to it,” he added.
Competitive fire
Rosberg’s retirement came as a shock to fans. The second he won the championship, he called it quits on his F1 career to focus on his family. Even though it was totally unanticipated, Hamilton thinks otherwise. The Brit saw it coming after his championship win in Abu Dhabi.
“He has to make his own decisions. To be honest, for me, it was expected, and so moved on,” he asserted.
Five years on from one of the most intense rivalries in the sport, Hamilton is now engaged in another one, this time with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. This season, the two drivers have traded tense moments and finishes, and sit very close in the standings.
With the fifth race on its way, both will look to win it and become an early frontrunner for the WDC. Hamilton will be gunning for title number eight, while Verstappen will be looking to win his first one.
Read more: Tip of the Rosberg: What happened to the only Hamilton alternative F1 has ever seen?