Mercedes F1 admit that Rosberg didn’t get enough credit for beating Hamilton

When he defeated Lewis Hamilton for the drivers’ title in 2016, Nico Rosberg never got quite the praise he deserved. Perhaps it was because soon after that he shocked the world by choosing not to defend it. But it’s only now, after Valtteri Bottas lagged Hamilton for years, that people realize how great Rosberg was to win the championship this year. This feeling is also confirmed by Mercedes.

James Vowles, Andrew Shovlin, Simon Cole, and Ron Meadows agreed that Rosberg never got the recognition it deserved.

With Hamilton firmly on the way to going down as the all-time F1 legend, the Brackley guys were asked if Rosberg was getting enough credit for how good he was as a racing driver. Meadows said, “I don’t (think so). His work ethic was incredible. He learned a lot from Michael (Schumacher). “

Michael Schumacher shaped the success of Nico Rosberg at Mercedes

The Mercedes quartet claimed that Nico’s findings from observing Michael helped him a lot when he eventually worked with Hamilton.

They said, “He very acutely identified the successful aspects of Michael’s behavior, namely working hard, being nice to everyone, being involved. As he learned from it, he carried that over to the next few years when Lewis came to us.

“It was better than we can probably remember.”

The last few years of F1 racing have made people realize that what Rosberg has achieved was actually quite astonishing. No driver has caught up with Lewis on a regular basis since he retired. There were hardly any championship fights in recent years.

FILE PHOTO: Formula 1 F1. Turkish Grand Prix. Istanbul Park, Istanbul, Turkey. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton celebrates after winning the race and the world championship. Pool via REUTERS / Clive Mason / Pool / File Photo

Although Rosberg may have done without racing cars, he is still involved in motorsport, albeit in a different role. Rosberg is the owner of Rosberg X Racing, his own team participating in the newly launched Extreme E-Series.

Thanks to Extreme E, the infamous rivalry between Rosberg and Hamilton lives on. However, the rivalry on the F1 grid is different. One that Hamilton and Verstappen are involved in. F1 fans will be hoping the Dutchman can pull off an epic battle for the title this year, similar to what Rosberg did five years ago.

Also read: Would never again allow a situation from Lewis Hamilton-Nico Rosberg at Mercedes: Wolff