During the Nico Rosberg-Lewis Hamilton era of Formula 1 between 2013 and 2016, we witnessed one of the most intense rivalries we have ever seen in the sport. With everything on the line during every single race, the two teammates went from friends to archrivals on and off the track.
With Lewis Hamilton coming out on top in 2014 and 2015, Rosberg was losing hope that he could beat the now seven-time world champion in a straight fight until he won it in 2016, only to retire right after. Former Mercedes team lead, James Vowles, has provided unique insight into what eventually caused Rosberg to leave the sport after winning the title in 2016.
Michael Schumacher’s racing mentality is not for everyone
During a recent episode of High Performance podcast, James Vowles talked about his stint at Mercedes and working with the likes of Schumacher, Hamilton, and Rosberg. Something we haven’t heard about before, though, was how Schumacher helped Nico Rosberg to win in 2016 at the cost of everything that he held dear:
“So, [Michael Schumacher] would bring everyone on the journey, and lead everyone on the journey, and he would extract every, he would squeeze himself for every millisecond he had, he would work as late as he needed to, every hour he needed to.”
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“That was how he operated. And Nico learned a tremendous amount from him. It formed the Nico that then became a world champion, ultimately, which is: squeeze everything out of you that you can, at the cost of everything else.”
This mentality saw Rosberg mount a fight against Hamilton until the very last lap in 2016 and many though that that was only the start of it. However, it came as a shock to all when he announced, not long after that, he was leaving the sport entirely.
Nico Rosberg, Formula 1 World Champion but ultimately a family man
With the price of ‘everything else’ for winning the championship in 2016, Rosberg decided that he wouldn’t want to do that again. The price was too high, and he had already achieved his goal. Vowles got a front row seat to Rosberg’s decision and how it unfolded:
“[Rosberg squeezed out everything] to the extend that he ended up having to leave after winning that world title. Exactly that. The sacrifice I talked to you about before, that was painful to me, where you let go of family and friends and loved ones. [Nico] did, for that year.”
“And he decided, and all the respect to him for it, that actually that’s not the life he wanted.”
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Following the 2016 season, we have come to see Nico Rosberg on the grid in a presenter role rather than a driver one. He is often seen asking the more difficult questions during grid walks, interviews, or discussions at Sky Sports. But whatever happens to Rosberg in the future, no one can take away all of his hard work he put in during the 2016 season and the World Title that came with it.
