FORMER Formula One world champion Nico Rosberg was left red faced after a sly dig was aimed at him live on TV.
During Sky Sports F1’s coverage of the Chinese Grand Prix, Rosberg was asked to analyse what the driver dynamic between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc could be like in 2025.
It was announced before the season that the seven-time world champion would be transferring to Ferrari from Mercedes in a move which rocked the world of F1.
Kicking of his analysis, Rosberg said: “Of course we’re all looking forward to that dynamic again.
“Charles doesn’t seem like someone who goes into conflict too much with his team-mate.”
This prompted Sky’s F1 expert Karun Chandhok to joke: “Like you?”
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Rosberg seemed to stumble over his sentence slightly before sheepishly replying back: “Oh come on. That’s not nice to say.”
This came in reference to the German’s time as Hamilton’s team-mate at Mercedes between 2014 and 2016, when the duo butted heads when vying for the title.
A friend of Hamilton, 39, from their karting days, Rosberg, 38, linked up with the former McLaren star at Mercedes between 2014 and 2015.
But as they both went for F1 titles their relationship broke down, coming to a head in 2016 with a number of high profile incidents such as heated exchanges and crashes throughout the season.
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Reacting to the clip, one fan said: “Karun ATE.”
A second said: “It’s savage… he still can’t help it lol.”
A third added: “You can tell from Nico’s response how deeply sensitive and emotional he feels about his conflict with Lewis, even now.”
Another said: “You can tell that Nico was p****d off there.”
A fifth accused Chandhok of not showing Rosberg “respect”.
While a sixth said: “Got him!!! 😂”
Rosberg dramatically retired from F1 at the end of the 2016 season, admitting afterwards that the pressure of racing against Hamilton that season took its toll on him.
On their heated rivalry, Rosberg previously said: “It [the friendship breakdown] happened immediately when we were fighting for the World Championship, not before.
“But that’s always the case: When you’re fighting for success in every race and for titles, it doesn’t work anymore.
“It was a build-up from one race to the next. If you want to decide the world championship for yourself, you can’t play ‘love, peace and harmony’.
“You have to test limits and go into grey areas to win, especially when two drivers are at such a high level. Then it often gets tight.”
Despite the fractured relationship, Rosberg insists they have since “repaired our friendship” and revealed Hamilton sends a “huge box full of gifts” to her.
Hamilton has since gone on to rack up a record-equalling seven world titles, but has not won a race for two years following a change in regulations that has seen Red Bull and Max Verstappen dominate.
The Brit thought he had claimed sprint pole during sprint qualifying at the Chinese Grand Prix.
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But Lando Norris’ lap time – originally removed from the timings – was reinstated and placed the McLaren ace on pole for the sprint race instead.
That came as a fire broke out on the GRASS by the track, causing two delays – one in free practice and one in SQ1.
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Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
