Hamilton’s dirty tricks: How Rosberg won twice in the “Star Wars”

Hamilton’s dirty tricks
How Rosberg won twice in the “Star Wars”

“I want to let the pig out now”: Nico Rosberg celebrates his first Formula 1 world championship exactly five years ago. Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton is a tough competitor who is not afraid of any tricks. But Rosberg prevailed in the last race – and then shocked the motorsport world.

Not again, just not again, Nico Rosberg thought as the racing cars grew bigger and bigger in his rearview mirror. Long-term rival Lewis Hamilton did not shy away from unclean tricks either and deliberately slowed down the field in order to keep the upper hand in the “Star Wars” for the Formula 1 World Championship for the third time.

But this time it turned out differently. When Nico Rosberg crossed the finish line at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi on November 27, 2016, he was only second behind his Mercedes team-mate Hamilton – but the triumph was entirely his.

The Wiesbaden-born driver saved a five point lead in the finish after 21 partly memorable races of the season. The year 2016 began Rosberg with four victories, after the Silver Arrows collisions in Barcelona and Spielberg the pendulum seemed to swing back in favor of Hamilton – but Rosberg also got mentally strong from the summer break and was able to afford four second places behind the angry Hamilton in the last races.

Rosberg’s second triumph

In his eleventh Formula 1 year, the son of the 1982 world champion Keke Rosberg finally achieved the goal of his dreams. “Now I just want to celebrate and let the pig out,” announced Rosberg and followed up with deeds. The 31-year-old let it crash for days as if there was no tomorrow.

And indeed, Monegasse, by choice, shocked the motorsport world just five days after its triumph. Before he received the World Cup in Vienna, Nico Rosberg declared his resignation out of the blue: “I’ve climbed the mountain, I’ve reached the top, and it feels right.”

After years of blows in the neck at the crucial moments, it had fit this one time. Hamilton – meanwhile the most successful Formula 1 driver in history – let Rosberg, who is considered soft, surpass himself. The German did not want to and could not repeat this feat of strength in the Formula 1 hamster wheel. In this respect, his resignation on December 2nd was Nico Rosberg’s second triumph within a few days.

.
source site-59