Welcome to Greatest Rivals!
Each Wednesday, this page will pitch two great rivals against each other to finally find out who the real winner is! Over the coming weeks, this page will cover many great rivalries, from the glory of el Clasico to the back and forth action of some of Wimbledon's finest performers.
Wednesday 3rd March 2021 - Lewis Hamilton vs Nico Rosberg
Although this rivalry doesn't reach the heights of Senna vs Prost or Hunt vs Lauda, it's surely the best that the 21st century has managed to produce. Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg have spent most of their motorsport careers wheel to wheel both on and off the track and their combined success brought them both to Formula One. But make no mistake, even though they shared the same track and overalls, their journey's to world titles couldn't be further apart; with one given immediate opportunity and the other having to wait 25 years for their shot at world domination.
Statistically, its a landslide. As I have mentioned in other articles, Lewis Hamilton will go down in history as the most statistically dominant Formula One driver of all time. In the 266 races he has competed in, he has won on 95 occasions (35.7%) as both a driver for McLaren and Mercedes. He holds the world record for the most pole positions of all time (98) and is a 7-time world champion. In contrast, Nico Rosberg competed in 206 races for both Williams and Mercedes and won 23 Grand Prix (11.1%). He took 30 pole positions in this time and won one world title in 2016.
So, as I said, it's a landslide. But if you dig a little deeper and look beyond the statistics, you begin to see why Nico Rosberg is hailed as one of the greatest drivers of his generation.
As drivers, Hamilton and Rosberg have very contrasting styles. Ever since their days in karting, Hamilton has always been a very aggressive driver and is willing to put it all on the line in order to win every race. This is a championship-winning trait and has been seen in every great racing driver including Ayrton Senna and James Hunt. On the other hand, Rosberg has always had an eye on getting the car across the line and living with the best possible result that he can get. Again, this is a trait observed in other great Formula One drivers including Alain Prost and Niki Lauda. It's the classic story or brawn vs brain and if history is any indication, the brain will always come out on top when both drivers are put on a level playing field.
Unlike Hamilton, Rosberg got his Formula One start with a team right at the back of the pack. He signed with a struggling Williams team in 2006 and immediately showcased his superb driving talent, setting the fastest lap in his debut race in Bahrain. On the other hand, Hamilton joined McLaren in 2007 and immediately competed for a world title. See where I'm going with this? This theme continued until 2010 when Rosberg signed with Mercedes and was partnered with the great Michael Schumacher. Here, Rosberg again delivered on great talent, regularly beating his 7-time world champion teammate in both qualifying and race weekends. Mercedes made Rosberg more competitive than ever but would not put him on top of the podium until 2012, where he secured his maiden victory in the Chinese Grand Prix.
After Schumacher's retirement in 2013, Mercedes prised Lewis Hamilton away from McLaren and was the fire that ignited a glorious 4 season rivalry against a settled Nico Rosberg.
Rosberg brought home 2 race wins against his British rivals 1, but finished 6th in the driver's world championship. Hamilton finished 4th. This was the final season of Red Bull's dominance, who had just completed 3 consecutive constructors and drivers world titles since 2010 with Sebastian Vettel. Rule changes in 2013 alongside the hiring of Toto Wolf brought Mercedes miles ahead of the competition and began their infamous winning streak of both constructors and drivers world champions (a streak that is still yet to break).
From 2013-2015, Hamilton outscored Rosberg and collected 2 world drivers championship titles. 2016, is when the brain finally triumphed.
The 2016 season was arguably the most interesting Formula One has ever been since the beginning of the millennia, with Rosberg and Hamilton going back and forth in race wins and pole positions, creating tension between themselves and their adjoining garages. However, on a final level playing field and with one race separating them, Rosberg won his first and only world title; only 5 points ahead of Hamilton.
At 29 years old, Nico Rosberg achieved his childhood dream and promptly retired. This premature retirement signified two things.
The first being the gradual death of interest in Formula One. Since Rosberg's retirement, F1 weekends have looked more like a Thanksgiving parade than a competitive sports event.
The second was a statement. Despite all his numbers and world-titles, Hamilton can be beaten. It just takes a brave enough man to take the hit. If Rosberg had chosen to continue, there is no doubt in my mind that Hamilton would not be a 7-time world champion and would have packed up his helmet and overalls many seasons ago.
In terms of defining a winner of this Greatest Rivals matchup, Nico Rosberg is the winner for me. The head will always say Hamilton, but that 2016 victory will always claim the heart of every F1 fanatic.
Overall Winner: Nico Rosberg
That was a great blog and I totally agree with the result, go Nico !
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