Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg had one of the most explosive rivalries in the modern Formula One, and always pushed each other to the limits, but were they on friendly terms off the track?
Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg aren’t friends, but they used to be during their childhood years. They became bitter rivals after joining Mercedes as teammates in 2013, and haven’t remained close following Rosberg’s retirement from Formula One in 2016.
Stick around to learn more about their journey, and how they went from karting buddies to Formula One adversaries.
Childhood Friendship
Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg didn’t seem to have much in common during their childhood years, apart from their love for racing. Rosberg was the son of the former Formula One World Champion Keke Rosberg and grew up in a wealthy family, while Hamilton’s father had to work multiple jobs to support his racing career.
That didn’t stop them from being the best of friends, and they were still karting when they first became teammates in 2000. While racing for Mercedes Benz McLaren in Formula A, Hamilton became European champion, while Rosberg showed great promise.
Those who knew them back in the day revealed they were always extremely competitive. The Polish racer Robert Kubica said they even had races to eat pizza, while their old karting boss Dino Chiesa remembered them as mischievous little boys.
Chiesa told The Guardian they would often stay up late, eating ice cream and making a mess in their hotel room. He described Hamilton as “the faster driver”, whereas Rosberg had “a serious side” to him and approached racing from an analytical perspective.
Formula One Rivals
Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg crossed each other’s path again when they became teammates after joining the Mercedes team in 2013. This should’ve been the realization of their childhood dream, but quickly turned into a living nightmare.
Judging by the numbers, the two Formula One stars had a successful working relationship. During their four years as teammates, Hamilton had 32 victories, 55 podium finishes, and won Formula One World Championship twice, while Rosberg walked away with 22 victories, 50 podium finishes, and one World Championship title.
Their behavior on the track, however, told another story. They were on the same team and competing against each other at the same time, and neither wanted to take a back seat.
The tension between Hamilton and Rosberg was obvious to everyone, and the Mercedes boss Toto Wolff compared it to a volcano waiting to erupt. According to him, they were both “complete alpha drivers” trying to win the World Championship, and that was the biggest issue.
Formula One has always been problematic in that regard because teammates stand in the way of each other’s personal triumph. Hamilton and Rosberg weren’t immune to this issue, and their rivalry included everything from harsh words to on-track collisions.
Mercedes team chairman Niki Lauda revealed their contracts were on the line after a fiasco at the Spanish Grand Prix in 2016. This didn’t stop Rosberg from winning the Formula One World Championship that season, and he announced his retirement only five days later.
Is There Still Hope?
Rosberg’s retirement put an end to his feud with Hamilton. Despite the many incidents they were involved in, Hamilton had nothing but kind words for his childhood friend and said he’s going to miss their rivalry.
“When I joined this team, Nico was there, which was something we spoke about when we were kids. So it’s going to be very, very strange, and, for sure, it will be sad to not have him in the team next year,” said the British racer.
The two Formula One champions are no longer rivals, but their starkly different lifestyles make it difficult to be friends. Back in 2018, Rosberg said that he wants to “get back to getting on better” with Hamilton, so maybe there’s still hope for them, after all.