LEWIS VS NICO
Rosberg and Hamilton are no strangers to controversy within
the team, and the last lap collision at the Austrian Grand Prix
is another in a growing list of incidents between the two who
have raced one another since their karting days.
Below is an overview of some of the contentious incidents in
the Hamilton vs Rosberg saga thus far:
• Circa 1998 – Not quite an incident but perhaps the spark
that began it all… Hamilton in his early teens taught
himself to ride a unicycle, as part of his karting rivalry with
Rosberg, who could already ride one at that point.
• April 2012 – During the Bahrain Grand Prix, on the straight
before Turn 4 Rosberg desperately forced Hamilton wide
and off-road but could not hold the Briton back from taking
the position. The stewards had a look at the incident after
the race but there was no sanction from them.
• March 2013 – Hamilton finished third in the Malaysia
Grand Prix to take his first podium for the Mercedes team,
although Rosberg was prevented late from attempting to
overtake him by team orders.
• May 2014 – In qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix,
Rosberg’s bizarre mistake robs Hamilton of a chance to
go for pole and Rosberg wins the race the next day.
• July 2014 – Hamilton ignores team orders to let Rosberg
pass at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
• August 2014 – Hamilton alleges Rosberg deliberately
crashed into him at the Belgian Grand Prix.
• October 2015 – Hamilton forces pole-sitter Rosberg off the
track at the United States Grand Prix as he goes on to win
the world title.
• May 2016 – The two collide at the Spanish Grand Prix as
Hamilton tries to overtake Rosberg shortly after the start.
• June 2016 – Hamilton forces Rosberg off the track at the
Canadian Grand Prix as they seek to catch Sebastian
Vettel at the first turn, later wins the race, while Rosberg
drops to fifth.