Nico Rosberg says Lewis Hamilton 'shunted him' as F1 icon lifts lid
Nico Rosberg has joked about Lewis Hamilton following their tense F1 rivalry
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Nico Rosberg has joked Lewis Hamilton 'shunted' him during their time as F1 rivals.
The pair were team-mates at Mercedes and were initially friends, though their relationship turned frosty before the German quit the sport back in 2016.
These days, Hamilton is lagging behind Red Bull star Max Verstappen.
The 25-year-old has won the last 12 races in a row, with his latest victory coming at Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg had a tense relationship in F1
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And Rosberg has now reflected on his own winning run while speaking on the Sky F1 podcast.
The 38-year-old previously won seven races in a row, including the last three of the 2015 campaign and first four races of te 2016 season.
Rosberg quips he could have won even more had it not been for Hamilton 'shunting' him at the Spanish Grand Prix - a race that would end up being won by a young Verstappen.
“Yeah, that was quite cool," he said.
“I would have had eight if Lewis hadn’t have shunted me off in Barcelona, for those of you who remember that race in 2016."
Rosberg was keen to stress, however, that he was joking.
“I’m laughing by the way for those of you who can’t see me now, because that was a joke," he said.
Rosberg has also delivered his verdict on Verstappen and his dominance of the sport.
And though he concedes the Red Bull star's exploits are tarnishing the spectacle of F1, he's got nothing but positive things to say about the defending champion.
“It’s incredible, really, to see a such a performance for Max and I said it in the after race interview with him that I’m one of the people that can best judge his performance at the moment and the level that he’s driving at," he said.
“And yes, it doesn’t exactly make for the most exciting races at the very front.
"But I mean, he is so deserving because it’s incredible the level that he’s at, so close to perfection all the time.
“You have got to compare to the team-mate. Look where Sergio Perez is.
“His best qualifying result in the last six Grand Prix was ninth on the grid, can you believe?
"And that’s with the same car and Sergio is a really good driver and knows how to drive a racing car. So Max [in comparison] is just extraordinary.”
Meanwhile, Daniel Ricciardo has returned to F1 seven months after his final appearance for McLaren last December.
And Rosberg is happy to see the Australian back, saying: "We are all thrilled to see him back.
"He's such an awesome personality, one of the best wheel-to-wheel racers out there.
"If I saw him in my rear-view mirrors, that was kind of the last guy I would like to see there at the time – with Max Verstappen – the two of them.
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Nico Rosberg quit F1 back in 2016 after beating Lewis Hamilton to title glory
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"So I think it's great to see him back."