The rivalry between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg started pretty much from the first season the Briton joined Mercedes. While the rivalry remained subdued in their first season together in 2013, it took off when the duo challenged each other for the championship the following year. As Hamilton got the better of his teammate twice, he did not leave an occasion to put him down.

The Mercedes era of dominance started in 2014. While delivering excellent cars all those years was a reason for it, having two fiercely competitive drivers was another. Their competitive attitude, however, did not just stop at fighting other drivers on the grid, but went down to racing against each other.

What Lewis Hamilton thought about his rivalry with Nico Rosberg

Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg knew each other since childhood from their karting days. The duo was even teammates racing for Mercedes Benz McLaren in Formula A. The conflict, however, started when Lewis was just 13.

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Appearing on The Jonathan Ross Show, he recalled, “There is for sure this friction naturally with [Nico Rosberg]. We’ve known each other since I went to race in Italy. I got signed when I was 13.”

“When I got there, he was the golden child because his dad was an F1 world champion. So he arrived in a helicopter and had all the best of everything,” Hamilton added. “He led the whole race. I was behind him and I overtook him in the last lap and won the race and that’s where our relationship started.”

“So you can imagine we’re in Formula 1 now, and he more than ever wants to set the record straight. But I think there is only room for one number one.”

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The on-track rivalry between the two often spilled over off-track as well. Both Rosberg and Hamilton often spoke against each other in press conferences and interviews. Toto Wolff, who has been in the thick of things, will not let something like that happen ever again in his team.

Toto Wolff wary of another teammate vs teammate situation at Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg gave us some epic battles during their time together. The Mercedes pair raced hard against each other in Belgium in 2014 and in Austria in 2016, where either driver suffered their respective DNFs. Things got more out of hand in the 2016 Spanish GP when the duo crashed and took each other out.

Recalling the environment of the debriefing room in 2021, The Guardian quoted Toto saying, “If the debriefing room is full of negativity because the two drivers are hostile with each other, then that will spill over into the energy in the room and that is not something I will ever allow again.”

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Nico retired at the end of the 2016 season after winning the championship and finally getting the better of Lewis. The Briton has since then shared cordial relations with his teammates Valtteri Bottas and George Russell.