NICO ROSBERG has revealed why his relationship with Lewis Hamilton soured when they were team-mates at Mercedes.
The bickering pair’s row developed during their title clash in the 2016 World Championship race that Rosberg won.
Nico Rosberg has revealed why he and Lewis Hamilton fell out during their title battle in 2016
The friends became foes as they battled for the title, but Rosberg, who won the battle, has no regrets over how things went down
And both drivers’ passion for victory caused a major rift in the Mercedes camp.
Things got so intense that Rosberg previously revealed that he needed a mind coach to get through the difficult period.
The 37-year-old also explained that the row was at the centre of his decision to quit the sport after he won the title.
And now, he’s opened up on how the split between him and Lewis began.
Rosberg said to Eurosport: “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.”
But Rosberg has no regrets about how things went down despite losing Hamilton as a pal.
The pair are now neutral, and that’s good enough for Rosberg who admits he’s proud to have participated in the epic battle with one of the sport’s best.
He added: “I don’t regret anything from the battle with Lewis.
“That was a sensational time and a mega fight. I’m very proud of that. In the meantime, we’ve returned to neutral, which is okay.”
Hamilton was embroiled in a similar rivalry with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen last season and he ended up losing that one too.
And it’s unlikely that the Brit will get retribution this season as he trails leader Verstappen by around 100 points ahead of the French Grand Prix this weekend.
