Drive to Survive: F1 champion admits Hamilton rivalry went 'too far'

Lewis Hamilton speaks into a microphone — Photo: © IMAGO

Drive to Survive

F1 champion admits Hamilton rivalry went 'too far'

Nico Rosberg claims rivalry with Lewis Hamilton went ‘too far’

Originally written by Shay Rogers. This version is a translation.

Saturday 17 February 2024 14:57

Nico Rosberg has admitted that his historic Mercedes rivalry with Lewis Hamilton went 'too far' at times.

It’s Drive to Survive release month – which means that here at GPFans, we’re taking a look back at some of the biggest moments and stories from the show’s history.

Five seasons of chaos have come and gone, and we’re sure to get even more of it when the sixth season drops on 23 February – the last day of Formula 1’s 2024 pre-season test in Bahrain.

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Today, we’re taking a look back to season three, which covered the 2020 season and Mercedes’ historic domination as they took their seventh consecutive championship double at the hands of an incredulous W11.

Lewis Hamilton secured his record-equalling seventh world title, and the Silver Arrows were almost completely unchallenged in arguably their best season ever.

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Hamilton didn't always have it too easy

The Brit scored 124 more points and took nine more wins than his Finnish counterpart across the course of a 17-race calendar – one shortened due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The last team-mate he was truly challenged by was Nico Rosberg, the last man to beat him in equal machinery.

The two were close friends growing up, before things blossomed into an intense rivalry while team-mates at Mercedes – with neither driver wanting to lose.

It was third time lucky for Rosberg in Formula 1’s turbo-hybrid era, as he finally beat Hamilton in 2016 before subsequently shocking the motorsport landscape with his retirement.

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Mercedes (just) managed to stay on top of chaos

From pushing each other off track in key battles, to throwing caps in the cool down room, there was never a dull moment at Mercedes in the four seasons that they were team-mates.

It’s something that Rosberg reflected on in season three of Drive to Survive in 2020, when discussing his time alongside Hamilton.

“It’s quite unique in sport that your team-mate is your biggest opponent. With Lewis, it just went too far. Psychology plays a big, big role in sports.

“It’s huge. Everybody has self-doubt as well. You need to amplify that; you can force him into mistakes.”

Whether or not the rivalry went too far in Hamilton’s eyes too, it was a treat for fans at a time when there wasn’t a lot of action on track.

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Classic rivalry saved fans from borefest

Mercedes were dominating so much that their competitors had little chance, and a lack of rivalry between their drivers might have seen the remaining fans switch off forever.

The Duel in the Desert, the 2016 finale, the turn one shove of the US Grand Prix in 2015 – their battles will and have gone down in F1 history.

It’s a great shame that the sport never got to witness a Rosberg title defence in 2017, but even he has admitted the mental toll of such a deep rivalry.

Psychology plays a huge role in sports and while Rosberg used it to his advantage to win in 2016, he now realises that he and his team-mate took things a little far at times.

Lewis Hamilton Mercedes Formula 1 Valtteri Bottas Drive to Survive Nico Rosberg