rosberg He made his F1 debut with williams in 2006 after winning the GP2 series. He spent his first four seasons at Grove before joining mercedes in 2010 to partner with the return of Michael Schumacher.

He overtook seven-time world champion Schumacher during their three-year partnership, winning his first Grand Prix in China in 2012. The following year, Hamilton arrived from McLaren.

They had been close friends, but since early 2014, when Mercedes became F1’s dominant team, their relationship deteriorated. Hamilton won the title in the double points final in Abu Dhabi that year and did so with several races to spare in 2015.

However, the German found another level in 2016 to fight a dramatic battle. Hamilton and Rosberg collided twice throughout the campaign.

Nico Rosberg is the only driver to thank Martin Brundle for his expert’s praise

After retiring to spend time with his family, Rosberg has remained active in F1 through the media. Attends select races throughout the year, sometimes working with Sky Sports F1. Martin Brundle.

Speaking on the recent Sky F1 podcast, Brundle revealed that Rosberg is the only driver to have thanked him for his kind words in his expert duties. He did it on the grid before a race in Malaysia.

Brundle, who has worked in television since the 1990s, is now one of the best-known figures in the F1 paddock. Inevitably, he has angered many drivers with his comments over the years.

He said: “No one comes to you and says ‘thank you so much for what you said about us the other week’. In fact, I had him once: it was Nico Rosberg.

“He came up to me in Malaysia (it was about a million years ago) and said, ‘I’d like to thank you for what you said about me last weekend.’ I said, ‘I really appreciate it, because you’re the first driver to say something like that to me and, by the way, the last.’

Why Lewis Hamilton is not as “mature” as his former Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg

On talent alone, Rosberg seemed no match for Hamilton. Before 2016, he realized that he would have to dedicate himself fully to F1 if he wanted to have a chance.

Fortune was on his side. Hamilton was relegated to the back of the grid due to technical issues in China, failed to take part in Q3 in Russia and, most notably, suffered engine failure while leading the Malaysian GP.

But Rosberg also scored key victories over his teammate in Azerbaijan, Italy, Singapore and Japan. He understood the importance of capitalizing when Hamilton was not at his best.

A former Mercedes engineer noticed a key difference between the two drivers. Rosberg was ‘more mature’ than Hamilton when it came to using data, a key part of success in modern F1.

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