“I actually let Lewis past, on team orders. My direct championship rival!” : Nico Rosberg reflects on his time with Mercedes and how Lewis Hamilton was preferred over him
Nico Rosberg left Formula 1 on high note, winning the world championship in his final year in 2016. But prior to his final season, the German had to take a backseat and watch Lewis Hamilton on the top for a while, just like all other F1 drivers at that time.
The 39-year-old recently appeared on the Sky Sports F1 podcast with Natalie Pinkham, where the topic of the latest controversy involving McLaren partners Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri was being covered. Both the Aussie and the Briton are in direct contention for the drivers’ and constructors’ championships, with Norris the closest to rival Max Verstappen. Due to this, McLaren team boss Andrea Stella has hinted that the team will now back the Briton’s title charge.
“We have now to acknowledge that not only the constructors’ championship is possible but – with the performance we have at the moment in the car, and some of the struggle we see with Red Bull – even the drivers’ is definitely possible. If we can achieve both, we need to put the team and Lando in position to pursue both championships. Both drivers are mathematically in condition to do so but Lando is in the best position from a numbers point of view and we are fighting Max Verstappen. So, if we want to give support to one driver, we have to pick the one in the best position,” said the 53-year-old.
Nico Rosberg had much to say about this situation, as the German had shared a similar situation in the past with his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton.
“You don’t want to see your team mate win a world championship in a car that you knew you could potentially have won it in, as well” : Natalie Pinkham throws a harsh one on Nico Rosberg
Nico Rosberg related to the Aussie and revealed how unfair and borderline shameful this decision could turn out to be, as Oscar Piastri is himself doing a great job so far this season.
“It is hard, though, on Oscar because Oscar, in his contract, you will have a number one contract, yeah? It won’t say in his contract that, ‘You need to help Lando’. And Oscar is driving brilliantly also, so he deserves every opportunity, just from his point of view, to get race wins. Plus, let’s also remember mathematically he can still be world champion, so there’s also that. I mean, he’s not that far behind Lando, what is it, 40 points or something? So he’s not that far behind either so it’s a hard ask on Oscar to start forfeiting race wins, potentially,” said the German.
Natalie Pinkham replied to the 39-year-old while also taking the opportunity for a dig at him due to the past experiences he has had with teammate Lewis Hamilton at the Silver Arrows.
“Absolutely. I mean, you don’t want to see your team-mate win a world championship in a car that you knew you could potentially have won it in as well. I mean, that’s got to be the worst,” Pinkham said in a sly tone.
Nico Rosberg agreed to this statement with a smile on his face, which was overshadowing his frustration on the fact that he himself was Lewis Hamilton’s shadow and played second fiddle during his tenure with the AMG Petronas. The two have shared a fierce rivalry together in the past but, post-retirement, the German has made many positive statements about his time with the Briton from 2013 to 2016, which suggests that there will always be a level of mutual respect between them.
