After the 2016 F1 season, Mercedes held a press conference in Vienna, at which Nico Rosberg surprisingly announced his retirement from the sport. It initially looked like his teammate Lewis Hamilton was pretty dissatisfied with the announcement.
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Such speculation arose after Hamilton came to the press conference much later than Rosberg. Was Hamilton unhappy that he couldn’t get his redemption for the German the following season?
The answer is no. The seven-time world champion made it clear that none of these assumptions are actually true and put an end to the story line.
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What did Lewis Hamilton say?
During the Monaco Grand Prix press conference, Hamilton announced that he has shared enough victories with Rosberg since childhood. Therefore, he was of the opinion that losing a championship fight against the German wasn’t a deal breaker.
“Not at all. That’s an assumption, and I don’t like it when … I think neither of us should jump to assumptions,” said the Mercedes driver.
“Honestly, I don’t really know, I think I was told far ahead of time, maybe you would have found out. I’ve been driving with Nico since I was 13. There have been many victories. So I never felt that … I didn’t feel any negativity about it. “
Formula 1 F1 – Monaco Grand Prix – Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo, Monaco – May 19, 2021 Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton during a press conference in front of the Monaco Grand Prix Pool via REUTERS / Sebastien Nogier
Rosberg waited over a decade for the title, and the moment he got his hands on one, the announcement of his resignation followed. Not only did Nico manage to end his career at a peak, but he eventually shifted all of his focus to family after devoting 18 years to racing.
It was expected: Hamilton
The Mercedes star driver expected that he would anticipate the announcement of Rosberg’s departure after his championship victory under the lights in Abu Dhabi.
“He has to make his own decisions. To be honest, it was expected for me and so on, ”he said.
Hamilton got better from season to season and affected Rosberg’s chances of claiming a title with Mercedes since joining F1.
Formula 1 F1 – Monaco Grand Prix – Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo, Monaco – May 19, 2021 Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton during a press conference in front of the Monaco Grand Prix Pool via REUTERS / Sebastien Nogier
While Rosberg celebrated a strong end to the season in 2016, there were his teammates who suffered from constant reliability issues, which ultimately stopped his hopes of beating Rosberg.
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And now, after five years, Hamilton has gotten into another rivalry, only this time with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
The two formidable drivers presented a handful of exciting moments in the first four races. With 19 more, the rivalry will be exciting. But who will be ahead by the end of this season?
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