IS IT POSSIBLE FOR HAMILTON TO BE CHALLENGED AGAIN IN HIS CAREER IN EQUAL TECHNOLOGY? That's the question today. I'm asking the most of Hamilton fans here so I appreciate your trust in my objective of trying to celebrate a time when even one of the greatest ever felt the pressure - and why we shouldn't forget it. Subscribe for more F1 Stories and Race Coverage: bit.ly/2T3TGbK. Time stamps below: Hamilton & Nico Join Forces: 1:42 Kart Days: 4:10 Friends Turned Rivals: 8:27 Super Seb: 8:35 A Friendship Fractured: 10:35 The Spiteful Puncture: 13:01 NICO 2.0: 15:35 The Original Double DNF: 16:10 The Rivalry Spills Over In Austria: 17:35 The 2016 Title Finale: 21:25 Did Nico Run? 24:12
Honestly I would love to see Verstappen in the same car as Hamilton. We'll never know whos truly quicker in equal cars but i'd slightly lean towards Max. They're both super talented but i feel Max is that little bit more special, and possibly most talented guy ever to be in f1. Given the sheer number of magical performances he's had in his inferior toro rosso/Red bull. Which is more than Hamilton ever had when driving a slower mclaren/mercedes between 09-13.
Nico also said he went through a huge lifestyle change heading into that season, focusing more on his diet and training and cutting out things like social media and other hobbies and distractions outside F1. I think though that he didn’t want to continue to make those sacrifices in order to remain competitive which is why he retired straight after.
@@neelparmar6690 He even said he didn't help his wife take care of their new baby, and did nothing but rest and recuperate when he was at home. He had to be 100% selfish and focused. That takes a lot out of a guy
@@Rabidus289 I remember it well (am 46, Keke Rosberg, Niki Lauda and John Watson were my first heroes). Jeez... I remember when Prost was new boy on the block everyone talked about on a Sunday! Still ain't got no grey hairs though. Upstairs, at least
Well for fact Nico did not wait 16 years, if you look at the wiki you can understand Nico has beaten lewis many times in the past before they joined F1, in 2003 Korea superprix, in 2004 masters of f3, F3 Euro Series, up until they joined F1 whatever is recorded in Wiki it is (3-3) IN GP2 2005 Nico made more points than lewis made in 2006, 4 more poles and 6 more points to be precise. so precisely lewis was some bullshit artist,after joining F1 Lewis enjoyed championship-worthy car right from the start, unlike Nico who had a genuine chance only from 2014. So who is a better driver ? I would say Nico.
@@besim-fm8mw I agree Lewis is a outstanding driver, but Nico won 2016 and he deserves it. Also 4th best car in 2008? I would say Ferrari was better but it was definitely the 2nd best car
@@vaisakhan6933 you're comparing their championships from different years they weren't even together in? when it's actually about head to head battles? you're weird.
@@besim-fm8mw Wait what? 4th fastest car? 2nd fastest sure, if you want to bend the limits of reality so maaaaaybe 3rd fastest (in the beginning of the season) if we assume that the BMW Sauber was 2nd fastest. But how on earth was the McLaren 4th fastest. Please explain
@@besim-fm8mw "no driver today comes close to Lewis' technique" i'd argue that as of today Verstappen is a better driver (regardless of the result of the final race), however that might just be due to the fact that Lewis is starting to go past his prime
It get's better 28.22. No I have been working on a meme for over a week now have stitching in pixel by pixel the grid onto a mario kart start. it's literally hilarious hahah. don't even know what I'll do with it but bless Seb for giving me the world's best starting template
It's the things Rosberg does outside the car to give himself the competitive advantage as well that's really intense. Using a matte paint instead of a glossy one on his helmet because it's lighter. Giving up cycling to reduce muscle mass, anything he can do to give himself a tiny advantage. Rosberg was a machine.
Yeah but he keeps dicking about with the buttons on the remote and being noisy and disruptive to the other viewers. Some say Trump's tan is a Verstappen fan...
I think people often forget that Nico had a wife and a child at that point so he had more to his life than Lewis. Nico had to basically spend no time at all with his family during the season and that really takes a toll on you when you have a 1 year old baby at home and another one on the way. Its totally understandable that he retired, he beat Lewis and fulfilled his dream of winning a title and now he could retire and enjoy time with his wife and raise his children.
Ig you mean as long as you let Lewis win He is a really Sore Loser I have never seen him accept that he lost to his teammate and never appreciate the winner But IG thats what makes a Champion a Real Champion
Bollocks...you can be Hamilton's friend/teammate if you're not a whiny moaning negative nelly....he got on with button, kovalinen, bottas...but the 2 he didn't get on with are both whiny if they're not winning...Alonso and rosberg....
If you think about it and see the last lap again. Vettel was actually protected Rosberg from Verstappen. He never attacked him because he saw what Hamilton was doing.
In the cool-down room after the Abu Dhabi GP (2016), it was super awkward. Seb was bouncing between Lewis and Nico, talking and joking with both. Right before they walk out to the podium, Nico and Seb start speaking German together and Seb says something to the extent of “Germans have to stand up for Germans”. I don’t speak perfect German, but that’s what one of my German friends thought he said as well. After he said that, Seb grabbed Nico’s shoulder and both started laughing. Meanwhile Lewis was in the background doing everything he could other than look at Nico. He was awkwardly just standing there staring at the timing board lol.
I trust that even though their friendship was on the rocks, they pushed each other to be better drivers than they'd ever be apart, absolutely legendary pair
Yes, I think that, too. Who knows whether any of them would've ever become a World Champion if it wouldn't have been for them racing against each other so hard.
Honestly, Rosberg retiring after his championship... I'm all for it. I grew up being a huge Hakkinen fan. It's why I'm a McLaren fan to this day. His epic battles against Schumacher were awesome. And, in a way, Rosberg and Hakkinen have that in common: they interrupted a seemingly endless streak of glory of two drivers, Schumacher and Hamilton, who truly dominated the sport in a way few if any men have. Rosberg leaving on top does so much to entrench his legacy, those last 2 years of Hakkinen's F1 career were just disappointing and I wish he, I, and other F1 fans didn't have to trudge through that.
Folks would benefit from studying F1 history. It's why I rate Fangio so high. The guy came very close to winning 50% of all F1 races he participated in. Plus he was 46 when he retired after winning his 5th title. The undisputed most dominating in his era and his record stood for roughly half a century.
Can you clarify what you mean regarding your comment about Hakkinen interrupting Schumacher's "seemingly endless streak of glory". Michael won the 94 and 95 title with Benetton, then it was Hill in 96 and Villeneuve in 97 for Williams. Hakkinen won the 98 and 99 titles, with Schumi winning the 2000-2004 titles - so actually it was Schumacher ending Mika's glory.
Comparing Hakkinen to rosberg??? i would be pissed of if i was hakkinen, a quality driver that beat Schumacher fair and square, Rosberg on the other hand won purely because his car suffered half the failures that Hamiltons did.
His last two years? His last two years were 2000 and 2001. 2000 was an epic season long battle with Schumacher that saw Häkkinen take 4 awesome victories and finish the season in second place. The 2000 season includes the amazing fight for pole position at suzuka and arguably the best overtake of F1 history, Häkkinen overtaking the Michael at Spa. So, how was that a painful season for Häkkinen fans? Tons of drivers would kill for a season with 4 wins and a title fight. 2001 was definitely much worse but he still won two races, it's not like he fell into the midfield or something
CrankyYankeeF1 i think he mentioned it in one of his videos. He basically had ti sacrifice everything, including time with has family, to win. He didnt want to spend his whole life training so he decided to finish while he was ahead
It's true, Nico straight up said this in fact. If you look at the press conferences the personality differences are clear. Nico takes things very personally but Hamilton takes it in stride "We're just racing" is how he approaches things. This perspective gives a person a ton of mental and emotional resilience! For him and Schumacher and Senna and Prost, Clark, Fangio etc... It's a challenge to be relished, to learn from, that makes you dig deep to improve in every way you can. Kinda sounds like an interview Hamilton made preseason 2020 doesn't it...🤔 lol He LOVES the constant intensity but Nico was getting burned out.
Why not retire after a win? James Hunt is not remembered as the greatest driver in F1 but everyone knows that he was the only one who could beat Lauda on equal terms in his prime.
I've been a Hamilton fan from day one but I have to say that Rosberg didn't get lucky in 2016. Hamilton had about 5 terrible starts that had cost him victory, the unreliability was a factor but so were Hamilton's race starts.
Fucking finally. Genuinely think you are the first to actually say this. This around the time Hamilton switched to overhand race starts. Idk if it’s Nico inspired Nico has a very unique starting grip too for the first clutch at lights out.
@@chasejoshua269 and how many bad starts did ROS have? About the same amount because it was a merc problem with the clutch. Rosberg only won because of mechanical problems with Hamilton's car.
This is the best analysis on their rivalry I've seen and the most fair. As someone who thinks that Rosberg was very underrated, I really appreciate this video. It's exactly as I thought. Nico started his F1 career in mid-field car but he definitely showed talent. And when he finally got winning car, he had to beat now one of the greatest F1 drivers of all times. Think about it. It took him 3 seasons. But I mean, even if you were Alonso instead of Rosberg, you would still have to beat Hamilton to be champion. It wouldn't be easy for anybody! Nico had winning car for only 3 seasons in his 10 years in F1 and he won one title. Not a bad statistic at all. So many drivers had a winning car and never won title.
@@AllThingsRacing this guy spoiled my dinner a couple of weeks ago with his lazy captioning/illiteracy. The wife has since left me and now this........
I'm a dip shit and read this like 8 times before I got it hahah well played sir! looking forward to your race coverage this year! Give my man a follow over at /KidsLoveF1
Well you managed to do it 2x with a pretty equal car and another 2x with a much better one so... Better do what you did then rather than doing something that helped only once :D
@@mohamedelsadig5820 In 2012 the car was good enough but Mclaren as a team sucked.. the reason why he left. That defeat probably was one of many reasons why he did the best choice of his life...
Seeing the photo in the end brings up another "What If" scenario. Robert, before his rally accident which injured him greatly, was one of the most promising driver which even made Ferrari interested in bringing him in.
dude I got ALL THE FEELS when watching Lewis and him race in 2000 at the Japan world title. he did poorly but then I went down the rabbit hole of his later races and how damn quick he was. I plan to do that someday bc I've literally never seen it. It's going to be apart of "Alternative History" series. i just have to make sure people will be open minded bc it'll be a lot of work for people to crap on if they don't give it a shot.
@@CYMotorsport hahaha, i guess it's completely understandable if those who mocked him are those who recently coming to the sport. They may not know how quick he was in his prime with his BMW and almost became a championship contender if not for the lack of car development.
This is a great video. Lewis is easily going to go down as one of the greatest ever, if not the greatest ever. And Rosberg will be remembered as the man who beat him, and possibly the only one to do so. Nico he won the championship, beat the GOAT, and retired cos he had nothing else to prove. a great story to tell actually.
Only one? Button beat Hamilton aswell in the same car. Button also beat Alonso in the same car. Button and Nico are look very similar in that aspect. Both beat far superior drivers regardless of circumstances and will go down in history rightfully so.
It's a sad story for NR bc that man has never been able to move on from LH. Like he wakes up and all he can see is LH living his best life. In reality, by never giving up, LH totally defeated NR. Savage.
I’ve had this video saved for a while now, finally checking it out after watching Verstappen’s last lap overtake for the WDC over Hamilton, and I just want to say that as a fan of neither Max or Lewis really, i’m very impressed with the grace and maturity that Lewis has shown since that defeat. Especially considering his past actions; he’s truly a full circle champion now. Amazing job on this presentation, as always. Love your series.
@@Sam-fs8sx ah well, the tyres are hardly ever the same in a grand prix. So Max beat Lewis on track. And Max defended on old against Lewis's new tyres in COTA for more than one lap. And Max also had more wins, more podiums, vastly more laps led so he really dominated.
In a universe where Rosberg doesn't retire after earning his _Formula 1 Championship Title..._ how utterly horrible would it have been to come back the following year and *STILL* be thought of as the *#2 driver* by, not only Hamilton, but every single employee of the Mercedes racing team as well?
The way he says kiki pisses all of us finnish people :D its super hard to listen. just say pronounce the E's like its written. Finnish aint some fancy sounding french or italian. We say things how they are written.
Check out my other 9 videos where I say it. The Finns jn my audience all were impressed haha I worked with someone who speaks the language natively when I was researching for a heikki kovalainen video. Returning to this now as I totally had forgotten, it was a big mistake I was embarrassed about . Just in trying to keep up with content you miss some things especially in the recording phase but I shouldn’t have. Won’t ever again now haha
This is brilliant. As a casual, I was 11 when I saw hamilton win in 08, to see someone look like me take the championship was immense. I kept up with formula 1 for 2 years and didn't come back till 2017. Your vid really shows how much context matters and when people talk about the right type of winner in all sports. The skill is what brings awe in sport but it's the narrative that creates deeper emotional connection. Cheers for illuminating the narattive. BRAVO Cranky.
Not me, not with how it ended anyways. In fact, I'd say if you wanted to film or animate any rivalry into a movie or Netflix series. This rivalry would be the one to base it on. Its got it all. A prince of nobility and a simple prodigy who beat him. Friendship, betrayal, fierce rivalry, a highly publicized crash, and what a way to end it.
I remember the Abu Dhabi GP 2016 extremely good: Sitting on the couch at lap 1 but standing in front of the TV and shouting, being on the edge. When Nico finally crossed the line and became champion, I was just screaming in joy and saying "Finally." One of the best moments of me watching Formula 1.
Something I would like to say, I’m a massive Hamilton fan and even thought Rosberg won in 2016 I’m happy for the guy, he fully committed to beating Lewis he took up meditation and completely focused on his race craft for me the icing on the cake is this story is a fairy tale two young kids who both dreamed one day they would be driving in Formula 1 in the same team & would be world champions. You can’t even make that up it’s crazy ! It actually happened 💙
Actually in 2013, Lewis almost joined RB to replacing Mark Webber. But since Webber extended his contract until the conclusion of 2013, Hamilton joined Mercedes; replacing Schumi
@Samanthaflower many people think it's the exact opposite. Lewis has always been the one to show his harcissism. He didn't respect people around him (esp. that snapchat incident) and was too full of himself. Never liked his charater. Nico is the prime example of Karma. Should make Lewis think about his behavior.
@@VGHOST008 shut up you twat, people like you always bring up his attitude outside of f1 since you have nothing else to say about him. just admit you don't like a black guy dominating sports that rarely see a coloured person.
@@mobddd lol no agrumetns.... so you bring the stupid race card... Just for your info. As good as Hamitlon is, true legends in any sport are also measured by how they act apart from their sports. Character is a important point here.
I'm not even a "Fan" at all but I too miss what he brought to lewis. Merc will never put a driver combo like that together again I bet but throw some intensity into the mix and anything can happen
At the 8-minute mark he basically says while in carting Lewis Hamilton was learning how to drive fast, Nico rosberg was learning how to get in Lewis Hamilton's mind
yeah I tried to touch on them. not many people talk about that. or how Rosberg grabbed P2 in Hamilton's run there at the end. without that, he loses as well. Malaysia, Spain etc all that aside, he still needed to win every single race and deliver the poles
@@Shadowboost how do you know that? It didn't happen. Don't forget Nico has his problems in earlier seasons. And 2008 'is that Glock?' moment. It's always what ifs. These are the same guys who claim Vettel won 4 WDCs because of his car.
@@RaghunandanReddyC Hamilton FB wont stop making excuses cause thats what losers do. Real Champs get on with it and thats what Hamilton did, but his fanbase will always be salty because Hamilton got beaten 1 season...
I really agree with saying that retiring on top is better than allowing the fans to see you decline and not be the driver that you once were. I grew up watching Formula One, so I remember when Alonzo won his titles when Lewis was an up-and-coming rookie, watching Sebastian Vettel at his prime I think a lot of people forget about how well the driver work did in the past, so I think Rossburg made the right decision when he retired.
Hope your mum is better! Here's to a speedy recovery. Remember Lewis' favourite Maya Angelou (iirc) quote - And still I rise! Your mum can do just that! Best wishes to her and all of you worried about her x
Hamilton’s tactics in the 2016 title decider drew a lot of criticism but honestly I think it was pretty smart. He didn’t deliberately drive into him, or pretend to make a mistake in quali to cause yellow flags. He managed to make Rosberg’s life difficult without using deliberate contact.
I thought it was shitty to ignore the team but he did was race drivers do: race to win. I can’t blame LH for that, as much as it’s not a very nice thing to do as a teammate.
This is a great video. Lewis is easily going to go down as one of the greatest ever, if not the greatest ever. And Rosberg will be remembered as the man who beat him, and possibly the only one to do so. Nico he won the championship, beat the GOAT, and retired cos he had nothing else to prove. a great story to tell actually.
This is incredibly well done video, kudos to you sir. Its just so easy to sit in a chair at home and judge or throw all kinds of "what if's" at it, its a whole diff story having to achieve what these two drivers have, so i have nothing but respect to both. That said it is clear (by now 2020) that Hamilton is a truly unique driver(up there with the legends of the sport), which kinda makes the achievement of Nico even more impressive now. I am sure that there is plenty of talented drivers that might have just crumbled under so much pressure, so as i said above, nothing but respect to both of them & thank you for putting this together.
I'm glad you feel that way and I too agree it's easy to shout the same old nostrums about Lewis's mechanic blah blah but Nico had to win races. and a lot of them . it was a tough line to straddle maintaining a driver's legacy wholly in tact as one of the best ever while simultaneously praising another's for finding glory within it. I just hope this can begin to change the conversation from what went wrong for Lewis to us remembering what Nico did right
Nico has proven to be a gentleman, a great husband & father. Good for him & his family that he planned to retire after he won his well deserved world championship. Now as an entrepreneur helping people & the environment through his various business ventures. Good for him. He’s living life according to his vision by being a family man first. Nico has class.
That means a lot Thank you Tostada. I'm really thankful to be growing so I can devote fair thought and time to each concept so thank you for your support. a simple sub, like, and comment goes a long way for the RUclips algorithm
Nico also said that his marriage was at stake and when you weigh fighting for another championship against chilling on Ibiza with your wife and kids and friends, I kind of understand his decision...
Niko may have grown up privileged but you still have to have the talent and work ethic to win the world championship. His was a personal challenge to himself, the fact that it was Hamilton only put a cherry on top of the dream ending.. I’ve watched some of his clips, he’s having a ball lol
And Hamilton didn’t grow up privileged? Wasn’t he hand picked by Mclaren? Wasn’t he put in a WCC winning car as a rookie? I honestly cannot think of a more privileged driver
@@aminatu8634 That much better than every other kid in Britain to be hand picked? No. There are numerous stories of him always being favored over other people
Man, I love your analyses. Your take presents an amazing premise that respects both drivers. The conceit makes us think more deeply about Nico's retirement instead of oversimplifying. I know these take time to put together so kudos to you, Great work!
Again... you can beat him, but only once. Then you have to quit, otherwise people will start expecting you to beat him again and that's just not gonna happen hahaha
Silas Ollegario I’m sure Leclerc and Vertappen can beat Hamilton several years in a row if you give them the exact same car. I think Vettel and Alonso would also still make a chance if you have them the exact same car.
Excellent video. You forgot one interesting detail if I may add. After the "hat incident" and Lewis clinching the title at the US 2015 GP, Lewis took his foot off the gas. Leading to Rosberg getting 3 poles and 3 wins in the last 3 races of 2015. Which, when you think about it, gave him momentum to get those 4 wins at the start of 2016.
Thank you for your videos! I'm a new fan of F1, even though I have always had interest in racing, grew up playing every NFA game ever, but I never really got into F1 properly. Boy have I been missing out! And thank you for providing so much information to current rivalry and past F1 moments. My love for the sport is just increasing day by day. A great thing I found during this quarantine age!
People have to realize how much Nico did for that title. He took philosophy and meditation classes so that he could focus better during races. He had 2 hours of disciplinary training every 2 days so that he wouldn't make as many mistakes during races. He specially designed his gloves so that he would get the best race starts he could. He stopped using social media and watching the news so that he wouldn't be distracted by other things besides racing. He gave up cycling so that he could lose 1 kg of muscle weight in each of his legs. He spent hours a day talking to the race engineers learning everything he could about the car and how to get the very most out of it, and that was just after his loss in 2015. He's being doing stuff to a similar level his entire career. In 2006 at the age of 21 he scored the highest score ever in the Williams's Engineering Aptitude Test which tested the driver's knowledge on the car. He's never really been comparable in pure skill to drivers like Lewis, Max, Alonso or Vettel but his mind and focus won him races. He was an incredibly smart driver and definitely up their with Lewis when it came to speed. That must have been grueling. I doubt anyone has ever worked that hard for a championship. I don't think Rosberg is the type of guy to give up without winning - if he was he wouldn't have went through that - so I think he probably would've went again for another season if he had lost the title but if he had already won a title before in his career and failed to win it in 2016 I think he probably would've still retired. Rosberg pushed himself to the very limit for that title. He deserved to be able to retire without people saying he ran from Hamilton. He probably could've surpassed Hamilton completely even without DNFs if he wasn't satisfied with the win in 2016. He could've became the greatest driver of all time if he had kept going. But so could most people in the greatest driver conversation if they tried as hard as he did.
This channel is awesome. I can def tell u put a tremendous amount of time and effort in all ur videos. I love all of these f1 history documentary vids the most so keep them coming 👍
I was at the 2016 Abu Dhabi GP, that was a sad day. One I'll always remember. Another great piece. Well done mate I really enjoyed it. Thanks for putting this together. I look forward to more of these.
I've been looking for a breakdown of their battles for ages! I only got into F1 last year and a real breakdown was so hard to find. Fascinating! Looking forward to the Williams video!
His break down has a stint of bias in it. He glorified Nico’s win, but failed to state the fact that Hamilton had car issues in a significant amount of the races, he also failed to mention that Hamilton had more wins and podiums than Nico.
Mercedes improved in the second half of 17. Vettel had lost 18 himself, after Germany he started spinning nearly at all races. He hasn't stopped till today, that's why he won't be at Ferrari at 21. the team started being really clown at 19 with Binotto at the team. They had the best engine but designed a shitbox, this year's full shit.
@@eronsebastianermino9989 2017 and early 2018 Ferrari had better aero efficiency, better tyre management, During the same time, Mercedes were having drag issues, and overheating tyres.... But somehow someone spun in a ferrari....
@@RacerzGTR you know im talking about the back end downforce right and ferrari always fucked up the strategie and the mid season they fucked up the upgrading and you know what fuck tifosi fans for blaming vettel that ferrari is bad what about the 2014 do ferrari fans blame the drivers no right now a 4time wdc is being blamed for not winning hahah nonsense they dont think that drivers dont manage and give strategy (vettel sometimes makes his own strategie cuz ferraris strategy sucks)
It’s amazing, the difference in packaging from the ‘14 cars. The back of those cars look like a ‘70s Cadillac compared to this year. The bodywork on the merc looks shrink wrapped. Mclaren’s “size zero” was ahead of it’s time. Literally 100’s of thousands of R&D hours ahead of its time.
Hey Cranky Yankee F1, I love your Commentary and Historical Overview of these Two Great F1 Racing Drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg!!! Great Stuff!!!!!!! Keep up the Good Work!!!!!!!
I feel like these two are just like Senna and Prost/ Hunt and Lauda in a certain way. One with a ridiculous amount of talent that's rivaled by basically no one. The other one also with a lot of talent but just not as much. So he has to give everything he can to beat him and that's enough for him. Honestly I really hope they become friends again someday, it really would be the perfect ending.
I’ve always wondered about Nico’s luck in the 2016 season... but in the end, Rosberg played it safe during the last 4 races because he knew he didn’t have to take the risks. Had Hamilton been closer, the dynamic might have been different. Even as a long time fan of Hamilton, seeing what Rosberg went through and the mental fortitude he showed even as the pressure mounted on him earned him my respect. And my god... that pressure was so immense... Hamilton may always be the better driver and Nico had some luck, but in that moment, it was all eyes on him. Always second to Hamilton, it was his championship his to lose, all the while standing in shadow of his world champion father... In the face of this, he stayed calm, gave it everything he had and beat possibly the greatest F1 driver of all time. For that alone, I give him credit. It’s not a story of who was the better driver, but one where a man defied all the odds to come out on top. A true underdog story. Well done Nico.
Largely agree but the notion nico was taking it easy in the final races, is false. He could've dnf'd with similar problems lewis had. No driver with a race winning car shoots for 2nd place. He got dominated plain and simple. Similar to what would've happen were there reliability parity. Likewise, I take nothing away from rosberg, he did the hard yards and reaped the benefits.
@@Bahamuttiamat He had all the pressure on him. Hamilton also had several brand new engines that could be deployed for more power than Nico's ageing unit had. So Nico had to race hard, but sympathetically. As Jack says, the pressure must have been immense. People talk about Malaysia and Hamilton's engine blowing. They never talk about Rosberg being punted by Bottas and being dead last by turn 3. I would have liked to have seen Nico carry on, but he did what he wanted and who can blame him. I think he would have liked to have had a sabbatical, but contractually, he'd never have gotten it so he had to fully retire.
@Hypersonik Bottas never punted nico. That was seb. Bottas in fact speared lewis in Bahrain. If you're going to argue at least get your facts correct. Regarding the PU "advantage" which do you think lewis would've preferred? Brand new units that blew with 600km on the clock or perfect reliability throughout the season. Straw man's argument there bud.
@@Bahamuttiamat Aye, it was Seb. I'm thinking of another race where Bottas hit Rosberg. Either way, he got hit and was last by turn 3. I'm sure Lewis would have preferred the engine to stay in one piece. However, Rosberg would have preferred not to have been punted. As it was Lewis failed to finish the race - benefit for Rosberg. Hamilton got several new engines, benefit for him. So it isn't a straw argument in that it's not an argument, more an explanation of the situation.
What you failed to mention about 2016 is that Hamilton spent much of the year openly accusing Mercedes in the press of giving Rosberg a faster car. He was especially insistent about it after the Japan race. Pretty poor form.
When i was 11 or 12, my older brother challenged me to a playstation basketball game to which i had never played before. And miraculously i managed to beat him, so with his pride greatly hurt he insisted on a rematch. But i refused, partially because i knew that i had no chance of beating him a second time but mostly because i enjoyed seeing him so bitter about it.
As i recall the year nico won, hamilton had a lot of engine issues that year and it was even a suprise that his car was the only one with a mercedes engine that was having unreliable issues
@@polinaosipova1087 one of them in Malaysia where he was leading. Lost a whole 25pts. One engine(Lewis) out of 8, having engine problem race in race out common nw.
I think what separates Hamilton from the rest of the drivers is his ability to come back from adversity and come back even stronger. If I remember correctly, Lewis was behind Rosberg in 2014 championship heading to the summer break and afterwards, he completely dominated the rest of the season to win the title. I reckon this probably played a part in Nico retiring after winning the 2016 title, he knew what losing a championship meant to Hamilton and he knew what would happen. Since then Hamilton has been dominating the last 3 seasons despite a Ferrari resurgence. Nico stayed consistent throughout and eventually luck fell to his side in the 2016 championship. If I was in his shoes, the amount of stress and mental toughness you need to fend off Hamilton is probably not worth it since he's already accomplished his dream.
"the amount of stress and mental toughness you need to fend off Hamilton is probably not worth it" You forgot schumi as well. The ammount of mental games that guy had to endure probably his entire F1 career (since the guys at the top at Williams are known to not be the most supportive ever as well) is astonishing.
8:37 cracked me up 😂. But seriously, this is just another masterclass vid in your F1 Wars series. I really do hope this vid shows why Nico deserves so much more respect than just being a meme nowadays (although I actually do like it but at the same time, he shouldn't be fully remembered for that). But you know what still made me lost thinking till this day!? It's the fact out of the ppl who beat Lewis, it's a fucking RUclipsr 😱
hahah I'd actually love to see Hamilton's reaction to this. I carefully maneuvered the constructs and made sure not to diminish him. but I could still see him deep down hating it haha. thanks for the support as always brother. this was one of the easier ones bc i truly don't have a dog in this and it felt easy to stay objective. Now williams.... struggling a bit but i'll get it done haha by hook or crook.
I don't think he feared defeat. He had proven himself and the world what he was capable of. There wasn't anything else to demonstrate, so he just quit.
The only thing Rosberg had to fear was becoming a backmarker over the years like Kimi, but to be fair to Kimi, he stayed because he sees it as a hobby and he is still a good driver. Rosberg wanted to prove he could do what he did, he won, against a bunch of world class drivers in their prime.
@@choobs8511 absolutely agree. Time is also playing in his favour by proving how much of a great driver he was, especially in 2016. Tbh I don't why people criticised him for retiring, he had nothing left to do
@@Alberto-ng2gs I hate the word quit.. quit is like saying he gave up after not succeeding.. he left on his own terms riding into the sunset with winning what he always wanted
Lmao completely salty, lewis wasn't lucky to end up in Mercedes. And even in a equal car Hamilton has beaten a wdc cba with this bs that Ham doesn't deserve 6 titles
The problem is that the risk was born of desperation, not of ambition. Lauda talked about it a lot, as he was all but praying for a moment of weakness to arise so he could take advantage of it and coerce Hamilton into joining them. AFAIK Singapore was pretty much the deadline, and before that race, in spite of all the points he lost because of his car and his team, Hamilton wasn't interested, nor did he know that the MP4-27 was a dead-end car or that the MP4-28 was going to be such a disaster. At that point, Hamilton wanted something, anything, that would guarantee him better luck and therefore a better shot at winning races and championships. It wasn't a calculated risk, it was an emotional one, and that very much is luck. It's a rare example of his emotional fragility actually working to his advantage, and that is in no small part due to Lauda's sheer genius.
I respect that he was chose to join Mercedes, but it’s fair to say he was lucky to join them at the right time. Imagine if he started his career at Mercedes then was head hunted for McLaren, he wouldn’t have won a world championship at all...
IS IT POSSIBLE FOR HAMILTON TO BE CHALLENGED AGAIN IN HIS CAREER IN EQUAL TECHNOLOGY? That's the question today. I'm asking the most of Hamilton fans here so I appreciate your trust in my objective of trying to celebrate a time when even one of the greatest ever felt the pressure - and why we shouldn't forget it. Subscribe for more F1 Stories and Race Coverage: bit.ly/2T3TGbK. Time stamps below:
Hamilton & Nico Join Forces: 1:42
Kart Days: 4:10
Friends Turned Rivals: 8:27
Super Seb: 8:35
A Friendship Fractured: 10:35
The Spiteful Puncture: 13:01
NICO 2.0: 15:35
The Original Double DNF: 16:10
The Rivalry Spills Over In Austria: 17:35
The 2016 Title Finale: 21:25
Did Nico Run? 24:12
CrankyYankeeF1 its not as easy as people think.It is also not easy as winning a race
Honestly I would love to see Verstappen in the same car as Hamilton. We'll never know whos truly quicker in equal cars but i'd slightly lean towards Max. They're both super talented but i feel Max is that little bit more special, and possibly most talented guy ever to be in f1.
Given the sheer number of magical performances he's had in his inferior toro rosso/Red bull. Which is more than Hamilton ever had when driving a slower mclaren/mercedes between 09-13.
CrankyYankeeF1 as long as Hamilton is in his prime, Hamilton will come out on top.
I still believe that bottas can
Tim Sherman I fully agree
Bottas *furiously taking notes*
Its James, stop
Lol, he's doing his best. I think Nico was a much better driver than Bottas. Bottas has little chance of beating Lewis over a season.
Nico also said he went through a huge lifestyle change heading into that season, focusing more on his diet and training and cutting out things like social media and other hobbies and distractions outside F1. I think though that he didn’t want to continue to make those sacrifices in order to remain competitive which is why he retired straight after.
@@neelparmar6690 He even said he didn't help his wife take care of their new baby, and did nothing but rest and recuperate when he was at home. He had to be 100% selfish and focused. That takes a lot out of a guy
Akamatsu_Ace yes exactly. I wonder if he didn’t win the world championship, would he have retired or continued to compete...?
26:00 - "You either retire as champion or race long enough to see yourself become a backmarker"
Seb's Motto post 2021? I'm surprised no one has said that not for meme value haha
Here's looking at you, Kimi
Word up
@@blacktoothfox677 Well, he tried to retire but returned to Lotus F1 after a short hiatus.
@@Rabidus289 I remember it well (am 46, Keke Rosberg, Niki Lauda and John Watson were my first heroes).
Jeez... I remember when Prost was new boy on the block everyone talked about on a Sunday!
Still ain't got no grey hairs though.
Upstairs, at least
“While we had to wait just 4 years, Nico had to wait 16”
This sent chills down my back!
Well for fact Nico did not wait 16 years, if you look at the wiki you can understand Nico has beaten lewis many times in the past before they joined F1, in 2003 Korea superprix, in 2004 masters of f3, F3 Euro Series, up until they joined F1 whatever is recorded in Wiki it is (3-3) IN GP2 2005 Nico made more points than lewis made in 2006, 4 more poles and 6 more points to be precise. so precisely lewis was some bullshit artist,after joining F1 Lewis enjoyed championship-worthy car right from the start, unlike Nico who had a genuine chance only from 2014. So who is a better driver ? I would say Nico.
@@besim-fm8mw I agree Lewis is a outstanding driver, but Nico won 2016 and he deserves it. Also 4th best car in 2008? I would say Ferrari was better but it was definitely the 2nd best car
@@vaisakhan6933 you're comparing their championships from different years they weren't even together in? when it's actually about head to head battles? you're weird.
@@besim-fm8mw Wait what? 4th fastest car? 2nd fastest sure, if you want to bend the limits of reality so maaaaaybe 3rd fastest (in the beginning of the season) if we assume that the BMW Sauber was 2nd fastest. But how on earth was the McLaren 4th fastest. Please explain
@@besim-fm8mw "no driver today comes close to Lewis' technique"
i'd argue that as of today Verstappen is a better driver (regardless of the result of the final race), however that might just be due to the fact that Lewis is starting to go past his prime
Ultimately, Nico went out a winner on his own terms and that's a perfect ending for him, no matter what anyone can say.
He doesn't owe anyone a rematch. If people think that's him conceding, then they can think that all they want.
You need to explain what ethical winning is.
Perfect ending for those of us who find him insufferable.
@@TheEvilCheesecake he definitely doesnt owe a rematch , in the end he lost the best of 3
Taking LH pit crew with including his (LH),chief engineer..
8:37 You chose the single best picture to convey the terror that is Sebastian Vettel.
It get's better 28.22. No I have been working on a meme for over a week now have stitching in pixel by pixel the grid onto a mario kart start. it's literally hilarious hahah. don't even know what I'll do with it but bless Seb for giving me the world's best starting template
Yeah, that dude is terrifying AF. Him being German doesn't help either.
SuperSeb 😂
😂😂😂😂 maybe Seb will win one more race. But it won't be a championship.
Was* not “is”
8:34 "They still had to deal with Sebastian Vettel."
*Proceeds to show the most terrifying image of Vettel.*
Imo it's the coolest
8:37 How did you manage to find a picture of Seb driving the 2020 Ferrari before the season started?
That car is a little faster than the s🅱in machine
pre-season testing started 4 days before this video came out
@@Aprill264 you....you didnt get the yoke
testing
@@Ej_shawkins ITS A YOKE!
It's the things Rosberg does outside the car to give himself the competitive advantage as well that's really intense. Using a matte paint instead of a glossy one on his helmet because it's lighter. Giving up cycling to reduce muscle mass, anything he can do to give himself a tiny advantage. Rosberg was a machine.
*Max Verstappen has started watching this video*
😂. Classic
@Yash Nayak Don't forget Perez in that W10!
@@AllThingsRacing or Stroll pays both to crash
Yeah but he keeps dicking about with the buttons on the remote and being noisy and disruptive to the other viewers.
Some say
Trump's tan is a Verstappen fan...
I hope Lewis watch this video to identify some of weaknesses that he needs to work on.
I think people often forget that Nico had a wife and a child at that point so he had more to his life than Lewis. Nico had to basically spend no time at all with his family during the season and that really takes a toll on you when you have a 1 year old baby at home and another one on the way. Its totally understandable that he retired, he beat Lewis and fulfilled his dream of winning a title and now he could retire and enjoy time with his wife and raise his children.
Jenson Button - to beat Lewis you must have a better setup
Nico Rosberg - to best Lewis you must play mind games
All Modern F1 champions play mind games, including Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher.
Max Verstappen - to beat Lewis you have to be fucking fast
@@jakem5039 "Just f*cking drive fast"
@@jakem5039 maxs deliberate oversteer on that last corner before crossing the line in Abu Dhabi was ice cold
@@Daniel-bb7rv no way that was by accident. Like you said , cold, calculated deliberate showing off.
I liked it. ;)
You can be friends with Hamilton.. As long you're 2nd..
No Rosberg was 2nd in 2014 and 2015 if you mean 2nd driver yes
Ig you mean as long as you let Lewis win
He is a really Sore Loser
I have never seen him accept that he lost to his teammate and never appreciate the winner
But IG thats what makes a Champion a Real Champion
Bollocks...you can be Hamilton's friend/teammate if you're not a whiny moaning negative nelly....he got on with button, kovalinen, bottas...but the 2 he didn't get on with are both whiny if they're not winning...Alonso and rosberg....
Same goes for Schumacher
Ok Valteri
"How to beat Lewis Hamilton"
Bottas to Verstappen: "Write that down WRITE THAT DOWN!"
It helped then, thanks to Valteri, pen and a paper
If you think about it and see the last lap again. Vettel was actually protected Rosberg from Verstappen. He never attacked him because he saw what Hamilton was doing.
In the cool-down room after the Abu Dhabi GP (2016), it was super awkward. Seb was bouncing between Lewis and Nico, talking and joking with both. Right before they walk out to the podium, Nico and Seb start speaking German together and Seb says something to the extent of “Germans have to stand up for Germans”. I don’t speak perfect German, but that’s what one of my German friends thought he said as well. After he said that, Seb grabbed Nico’s shoulder and both started laughing.
Meanwhile Lewis was in the background doing everything he could other than look at Nico. He was awkwardly just standing there staring at the timing board lol.
Schumacher waved Seb through to the championship in 2012, Seb fought off max to help Nico win the championship in 2016
@@spencerrollins7582 i would overtake Nico just to slam my car into Hamilton for doing this BS.. :)
@@spencerrollins7582 And now seb and lewis are good friends. Gotta love seb.
@@republikadugave420 and what BS was that? doing something entirely within the rules, like Perez did
Great video, I think we can all agree that Nico Rosberg is a vastly superior driver to Lewis Hamilton.
don't give Grosjean any ideas mate
yeah just have one of your drivers sacrifice their season in exchange for much of the money.
sometimes the simplest solution is the best one
Alright... I will admit I laughed pretty hard at that.
@@CYMotorsport Don't worry, Grosjean would be nowhere near enough to take out Hamilton
I trust that even though their friendship was on the rocks, they pushed each other to be better drivers than they'd ever be apart, absolutely legendary pair
Yes, I think that, too.
Who knows whether any of them would've ever become a World Champion if it wouldn't have been for them racing against each other so hard.
Honestly, Rosberg retiring after his championship... I'm all for it. I grew up being a huge Hakkinen fan. It's why I'm a McLaren fan to this day. His epic battles against Schumacher were awesome. And, in a way, Rosberg and Hakkinen have that in common: they interrupted a seemingly endless streak of glory of two drivers, Schumacher and Hamilton, who truly dominated the sport in a way few if any men have. Rosberg leaving on top does so much to entrench his legacy, those last 2 years of Hakkinen's F1 career were just disappointing and I wish he, I, and other F1 fans didn't have to trudge through that.
Folks would benefit from studying F1 history. It's why I rate Fangio so high. The guy came very close to winning 50% of all F1 races he participated in. Plus he was 46 when he retired after winning his 5th title. The undisputed most dominating in his era and his record stood for roughly half a century.
Can you clarify what you mean regarding your comment about Hakkinen interrupting Schumacher's "seemingly endless streak of glory". Michael won the 94 and 95 title with Benetton, then it was Hill in 96 and Villeneuve in 97 for Williams. Hakkinen won the 98 and 99 titles, with Schumi winning the 2000-2004 titles - so actually it was Schumacher ending Mika's glory.
Comparing Hakkinen to rosberg??? i would be pissed of if i was hakkinen, a quality driver that beat Schumacher fair and square, Rosberg on the other hand won purely because his car suffered half the failures that Hamiltons did.
@@mariospanna8389 bruh! thank you. Lol. People crazy
His last two years?
His last two years were 2000 and 2001.
2000 was an epic season long battle with Schumacher that saw Häkkinen take 4 awesome victories and finish the season in second place.
The 2000 season includes the amazing fight for pole position at suzuka and arguably the best overtake of F1 history, Häkkinen overtaking the Michael at Spa.
So, how was that a painful season for Häkkinen fans? Tons of drivers would kill for a season with 4 wins and a title fight.
2001 was definitely much worse but he still won two races, it's not like he fell into the midfield or something
I think that the stress of fighting and fighting and fighting some more just didn't appeal to Nico. He achieved a WDC and he could retire happy.
I love this take
CrankyYankeeF1 i think he mentioned it in one of his videos. He basically had ti sacrifice everything, including time with has family, to win. He didnt want to spend his whole life training so he decided to finish while he was ahead
Retire happy is an understatement for Nico. Though at times I do miss seeing Britney on track. Almost forgot his old nickname lol.
It's true, Nico straight up said this in fact. If you look at the press conferences the personality differences are clear. Nico takes things very personally but Hamilton takes it in stride "We're just racing" is how he approaches things.
This perspective gives a person a ton of mental and emotional resilience! For him and Schumacher and Senna and Prost, Clark, Fangio etc... It's a challenge to be relished, to learn from, that makes you dig deep to improve in every way you can. Kinda sounds like an interview Hamilton made preseason 2020 doesn't it...🤔 lol He LOVES the constant intensity but Nico was getting burned out.
And yes, he didn't like being away from his family so much either
Rosberg: *wins driver's championship*
Also Rosberg: GG no re
lmao
based
Why not retire after a win? James Hunt is not remembered as the greatest driver in F1 but everyone knows that he was the only one who could beat Lauda on equal terms in his prime.
Hunt is a bad example, he only beat Lauda because of the crash in Germany
@BardhanProductions maybe so, but he took that dub
@@BardhanProductions that was entirely Lauda’s fault, that’s not an excuse
@@BardhanProductions If Lauda didn’t crash at Germany Hunt wouldn’t stop until he won the championship.
@@mark5nb we still don’t know what happened it’s more likely his suspension failed so i don’t see how that’s his fault
How to beat Hamilton? Create a time machine, go back to 6 febuary 2011, and drag Kubica out of that fckn rally race.
I don’t disagree at all
Or stop Mercedes to become as a team in F1.
@@_marcelg lewis would be dominating in the mclaren mercedes anyways
@@sergiompvivayutub6501 hahahahaha
@@sergiompvivayutub6501 Good joke dude :))
I've been a Hamilton fan from day one but I have to say that Rosberg didn't get lucky in 2016. Hamilton had about 5 terrible starts that had cost him victory, the unreliability was a factor but so were Hamilton's race starts.
Fucking finally. Genuinely think you are the first to actually say this. This around the time Hamilton switched to overhand race starts. Idk if it’s Nico inspired Nico has a very unique starting grip too for the first clutch at lights out.
CrankyYankeeF1 Thank you haha, it’s hard for most people to objectively state the facts when you have a bias but facts don’t lie 😂
@@CYMotorsport Lewis won more races that year so that doesn't compute
@@chasejoshua269 and how many bad starts did ROS have? About the same amount because it was a merc problem with the clutch. Rosberg only won because of mechanical problems with Hamilton's car.
My recollection of ‘16 is #44 on fire 🔥
6:33 Robert looks just the same now, it's like you've photo shopped a pic of his face into the photo lol
It's almost creepy hahah
He's just not GIGA
Amazing genetics I say :)
Well he already looked old back then so....
lol
"How to beat Lewis Hamilton"
Max Verstappen: Interesting
He's taking damn good notes
Now time to go full Rosberg mode o.O
Can't beat the GOAT ham
@@BoleDaPole you're sure?
He took amazing notes it seems hope he can hold on and win it!!
This is the best analysis on their rivalry I've seen and the most fair. As someone who thinks that Rosberg was very underrated, I really appreciate this video. It's exactly as I thought. Nico started his F1 career in mid-field car but he definitely showed talent. And when he finally got winning car, he had to beat now one of the greatest F1 drivers of all times. Think about it. It took him 3 seasons. But I mean, even if you were Alonso instead of Rosberg, you would still have to beat Hamilton to be champion. It wouldn't be easy for anybody! Nico had winning car for only 3 seasons in his 10 years in F1 and he won one title. Not a bad statistic at all. So many drivers had a winning car and never won title.
5:45 "A young Rosberg and a young Nico"
sounds reasonable hahah
Lewis Rosberg and Nico Hamilton
@@AllThingsRacing this guy spoiled my dinner a couple of weeks ago with his lazy captioning/illiteracy. The wife has since left me and now this........
Kid: Where do Nice Rosberg come from, dad?
Dad: Well, when a young Rosberg and a young Nico love-
*FBI OPEN UP*
@@HaXD1209 what?
Number 1 unknown method: feed him steak 🥩
I'm a dip shit and read this like 8 times before I got it hahah well played sir! looking forward to your race coverage this year! Give my man a follow over at /KidsLoveF1
CrankyYankeeF1 you got it! 😉
Because hes a vegan?
@@511dydy Yep
Global animal fart warming and stuff .... makes him go crazy!
3 years later and this is still one of the best videos on formula 1 on the internet.
Wow I’m so glad I found this video, I need to start doing this!
Start applying the strategy this year Seb haha
Well you managed to do it 2x with a pretty equal car and another 2x with a much better one so... Better do what you did then rather than doing something that helped only once :D
@@MisoElEven finally someone that knows Lewis had a car equal to red bull in 2010 and 12
@@mohamedelsadig5820 In 2012 the car was good enough but Mclaren as a team sucked.. the reason why he left. That defeat probably was one of many reasons why he did the best choice of his life...
@MEGATRON Mistakes? Were you even watching? Number of mechanical issues he had those years was astonishing...
Seeing the photo in the end brings up another "What If" scenario. Robert, before his rally accident which injured him greatly, was one of the most promising driver which even made Ferrari interested in bringing him in.
dude I got ALL THE FEELS when watching Lewis and him race in 2000 at the Japan world title. he did poorly but then I went down the rabbit hole of his later races and how damn quick he was. I plan to do that someday bc I've literally never seen it. It's going to be apart of "Alternative History" series. i just have to make sure people will be open minded bc it'll be a lot of work for people to crap on if they don't give it a shot.
@@CYMotorsport hahaha, i guess it's completely understandable if those who mocked him are those who recently coming to the sport.
They may not know how quick he was in his prime with his BMW and almost became a championship contender if not for the lack of car development.
@@CYMotorsport I think it would be great just position the story well before you go into it...
This is a great video. Lewis is easily going to go down as one of the greatest ever, if not the greatest ever. And Rosberg will be remembered as the man who beat him, and possibly the only one to do so.
Nico he won the championship, beat the GOAT, and retired cos he had nothing else to prove. a great story to tell actually.
I thought so too! Thanks for the kind words, Vikram
Only one? Button beat Hamilton aswell in the same car. Button also beat Alonso in the same car.
Button and Nico are look very similar in that aspect. Both beat far superior drivers regardless of circumstances and will go down in history rightfully so.
@@DimitriMoreira Yea, Button did beat Lewis too, agree wit that but in the context of a championship, it didnt matter....
It's a sad story for NR bc that man has never been able to move on from LH. Like he wakes up and all he can see is LH living his best life. In reality, by never giving up, LH totally defeated NR. Savage.
Have a tantrum inside the team and demand a crew swap. Yeah....
I’ve had this video saved for a while now, finally checking it out after watching Verstappen’s last lap overtake for the WDC over Hamilton, and I just want to say that as a fan of neither Max or Lewis really, i’m very impressed with the grace and maturity that Lewis has shown since that defeat. Especially considering his past actions; he’s truly a full circle champion now.
Amazing job on this presentation, as always. Love your series.
Ya Lewis doesn't want to talk to anyone since that loss to Max. Lol
@@CedarRoofsOnly You can't really blame him, I think anyone would react this way if you would loose the title in such a way
@@CedarRoofsOnly If I was Lewis I wouldn't count a fabricated/manipulated race as a loss. Joke of a decision at the last lap.
Genuine question, why don’t you like Lewis or Max? They’re both great drivers?
@@Sam-fs8sx ah well, the tyres are hardly ever the same in a grand prix. So Max beat Lewis on track. And Max defended on old against Lewis's new tyres in COTA for more than one lap. And Max also had more wins, more podiums, vastly more laps led so he really dominated.
In a universe where Rosberg doesn't retire after earning his _Formula 1 Championship Title..._ how utterly horrible would it have been to come back the following year and *STILL* be thought of as the *#2 driver* by, not only Hamilton, but every single employee of the Mercedes racing team as well?
Very true actually never considered that in that manner
But he only win the championship because Lewis had more car problems
Well Bottas is living that life 🤣
@@tanvirahemd8938 look at the last third of that 2014 season and you will be very surprised who got more problems and who capitalised from that😉😉
@@tanvirahemd8938 still gotta get the car home yourself
nico: keke do you love me
Underrated comment
no I do not
Keke - no you only beat Lewis once and then quit. I hate quitters.
Nico - *shocked pikachu face
The way he says kiki pisses all of us finnish people :D its super hard to listen. just say pronounce the E's like its written. Finnish aint some fancy sounding french or italian. We say things how they are written.
Check out my other 9 videos where I say it. The Finns jn my audience all were impressed haha I worked with someone who speaks the language natively when I was researching for a heikki kovalainen video. Returning to this now as I totally had forgotten, it was a big mistake I was embarrassed about . Just in trying to keep up with content you miss some things especially in the recording phase but I shouldn’t have. Won’t ever again now haha
This is brilliant. As a casual, I was 11 when I saw hamilton win in 08, to see someone look like me take the championship was immense. I kept up with formula 1 for 2 years and didn't come back till 2017. Your vid really shows how much context matters and when people talk about the right type of winner in all sports. The skill is what brings awe in sport but it's the narrative that creates deeper emotional connection. Cheers for illuminating the narattive. BRAVO Cranky.
So glad to hear! If it helps, I just made a 53 min 2017 video to jog your memory loose haha
@@CYMotorsport already saved into my watch later lad. 👏🏿👏🏿
pics or gtfo. bet you look nothing like him.
@@TeaDrinkersRuledTheWorld Why you mad tho?
Nicely well thought out Sir, well done
"We can see a young Nico and a young Rosberg" - 05:45
It actually says it the other way around haha but thanks, hadn't noticed it. Had a time to chuckle a little bit
@@felipecasanueva5064 it was pretty funny when I heard it ahahha
It was sad to see how they went from childhood friends to Biggest enemies in the same team ...
‘Tis F1 . That’s what I see happening for lando and Carlos too though I don’t relish saying that
lol, that's the plot summary of every anime. We got to see it in the real world
@@CYMotorsport I never really saw their relationship straining during their time at McLaren
Not me, not with how it ended anyways.
In fact, I'd say if you wanted to film or animate any rivalry into a movie or Netflix series. This rivalry would be the one to base it on.
Its got it all.
A prince of nobility and a simple prodigy who beat him. Friendship, betrayal, fierce rivalry, a highly publicized crash, and what a way to end it.
@@jasongibson1225 An F1 anime would be pretty awesome. Forget doing this live action, I want an Inital D style anime.
I remember the Abu Dhabi GP 2016 extremely good: Sitting on the couch at lap 1 but standing in front of the TV and shouting, being on the edge. When Nico finally crossed the line and became champion, I was just screaming in joy and saying "Finally." One of the best moments of me watching Formula 1.
Something I would like to say, I’m a massive Hamilton fan and even thought Rosberg won in 2016 I’m happy for the guy, he fully committed to beating Lewis he took up meditation and completely focused on his race craft for me the icing on the cake is this story is a fairy tale two young kids who both dreamed one day they would be driving in Formula 1 in the same team & would be world champions. You can’t even make that up it’s crazy ! It actually happened 💙
And yet the price for the dream was their relationship.
World Events always knew an inside job. No such DNFs after 2016. Why?
Actually in 2013, Lewis almost joined RB to replacing Mark Webber. But since Webber extended his contract until the conclusion of 2013, Hamilton joined Mercedes; replacing Schumi
To be fair, if Nico stayed for the 2017 campaign it would become a very toxic dynamic within the Mercedes team
God.... I'm actually glad he quit, coz I can't imagine what it would be like.
@Samanthaflower many people think it's the exact opposite. Lewis has always been the one to show his harcissism. He didn't respect people around him (esp. that snapchat incident) and was too full of himself. Never liked his charater. Nico is the prime example of Karma. Should make Lewis think about his behavior.
@@VGHOST008 shut up you twat, people like you always bring up his attitude outside of f1 since you have nothing else to say about him. just admit you don't like a black guy dominating sports that rarely see a coloured person.
@@mobddd lol no agrumetns.... so you bring the stupid race card...
Just for your info. As good as Hamitlon is, true legends in any sport are also measured by how they act apart from their sports. Character is a important point here.
Rosberg & Hammy 2017 = Vettel Champion
I miss so much Nico Rosberg. 2k16 season finale was one of the best i've ever seen
I'm not even a "Fan" at all but I too miss what he brought to lewis. Merc will never put a driver combo like that together again I bet but throw some intensity into the mix and anything can happen
Seemed like a movie! Great work man! Would love to see more such videos.
More on the way! I’ve got plenty there in the playlists check em out!
At the 8-minute mark he basically says while in carting Lewis Hamilton was learning how to drive fast, Nico rosberg was learning how to get in Lewis Hamilton's mind
He's living rent free lmao
@@butterxo3094 who rosberg or Hamilton cause after Imolas race it seems Lewis lives rent free in Rosbergs head
What Nico did that year was awesome - he’s now the happiest RUclips vlogger out there ….helped by being absolutely loaded 🤣🤣💰💰💰💰
Amazing video, I think more context was needed for Rosbergs 4 wins at the start of 2016, with Hamilton having to engine failures in qualifying.
yeah I tried to touch on them. not many people talk about that. or how Rosberg grabbed P2 in Hamilton's run there at the end. without that, he loses as well. Malaysia, Spain etc all that aside, he still needed to win every single race and deliver the poles
@@CYMotorsport the fact of the matter is, though, with equal reliability, Hamilton would win 2016. So the only way Nico beats him is by luck
No one also talks about Hamilton having to take engine penalty and starting from the back in Belgium.
@@Shadowboost how do you know that? It didn't happen. Don't forget Nico has his problems in earlier seasons. And 2008 'is that Glock?' moment. It's always what ifs.
These are the same guys who claim Vettel won 4 WDCs because of his car.
@@RaghunandanReddyC Hamilton FB wont stop making excuses cause thats what losers do. Real Champs get on with it and thats what Hamilton did, but his fanbase will always be salty because Hamilton got beaten 1 season...
Man what a great job. I’ve enjoyed this video so much, you deserve some serious recognition for this. Congratulations.
Thanks Hernani that’s kind of you. All I care about is everyone was entertained. The rest will come when it gets here :)
I really agree with saying that retiring on top is better than allowing the fans to see you decline and not be the driver that you once were. I grew up watching Formula One, so I remember when Alonzo won his titles when Lewis was an up-and-coming rookie, watching Sebastian Vettel at his prime I think a lot of people forget about how well the driver work did in the past, so I think Rossburg made the right decision when he retired.
How to beat Lewis Hamilton?
Pronto Jahmilton, it's s🅱️inner time.
The real question is how to get ferrari in the podium in 2020?
Darth Hamilton: jajajajajajajajajajaja
CrankyYankee this is the video i was waiting for!!
So detailed and awesome as ever. Raising the F1 documentary bar!! My favourite youtube channel now!
I don't know about that friend but I surely will keep trying to raise that bar! thank you for your support
Your videos are the only thing taking my mind off waiting for my mother's general anaesthesia to wear off after surgery. Cheers mate
wishing her Rosberg-like super strength circa 2016. Chin up pal hope all is well
@@CYMotorsport you're one of the realest dudes in the biz. Thanks for the light.
Hope your mum is better! Here's to a speedy recovery. Remember Lewis' favourite Maya Angelou (iirc) quote - And still I rise! Your mum can do just that! Best wishes to her and all of you worried about her x
@@y_fam_goeglyd thanks so much for this :))
@@Ayesha-pb8sb how is your mom bro. Everything fine?
Hamilton’s tactics in the 2016 title decider drew a lot of criticism but honestly I think it was pretty smart. He didn’t deliberately drive into him, or pretend to make a mistake in quali to cause yellow flags. He managed to make Rosberg’s life difficult without using deliberate contact.
I thought it was shitty to ignore the team but he did was race drivers do: race to win. I can’t blame LH for that, as much as it’s not a very nice thing to do as a teammate.
It doesn't take a genius to realize that strategy. It takes selfishness and poor sportsmanship to enact it though
Hamilton is petty too. Its so dumb how people just outright ignore it.
Hamilton crying "he's just backing me up into Verstappen" over the radio is so incredibly ironic.
@@Dan-cc8wr i dont see whats wrong with it. i mean, checo did it so what's wrong with holding up opponents?
Turn the difficulty level down, that’s how I beat him ;)
This is a great video. Lewis is easily going to go down as one of the greatest ever, if not the greatest ever. And Rosberg will be remembered as the man who beat him, and possibly the only one to do so.
Nico he won the championship, beat the GOAT, and retired cos he had nothing else to prove. a great story to tell actually.
@@hannahpowell6230 yup all nico needed was for lewis’ engine to fail 3 times in a row and for mercedes to pretend it was just a mistake lmao
@@keynight7513 well if he's really good 3 engine failures shouldn't be a problem
This is incredibly well done video, kudos to you sir.
Its just so easy to sit in a chair at home and judge or throw all kinds of "what if's" at it, its a whole diff story having to achieve what these two drivers have, so i have nothing but respect to both.
That said it is clear (by now 2020) that Hamilton is a truly unique driver(up there with the legends of the sport), which kinda makes the achievement of Nico even more impressive now. I am sure that there is plenty of talented drivers that might have just crumbled under so much pressure, so as i said above, nothing but respect to both of them & thank you for putting this together.
I'm glad you feel that way and I too agree it's easy to shout the same old nostrums about Lewis's mechanic blah blah but Nico had to win races. and a lot of them . it was a tough line to straddle maintaining a driver's legacy wholly in tact as one of the best ever while simultaneously praising another's for finding glory within it. I just hope this can begin to change the conversation from what went wrong for Lewis to us remembering what Nico did right
@@CYMotorsport I think you did a great job straddling that line. ;)
Nico has proven to be a gentleman, a great husband & father. Good for him & his family that he planned to retire after he won his well deserved world championship. Now as an entrepreneur helping people & the environment through his various business ventures. Good for him. He’s living life according to his vision by being a family man first.
Nico has class.
gentleman? he is a dirty driver and a pussy.
Wow you changed my entire perspective on Nico Roseburg... he literally got the heroic ending... grande Nico!
Thanks for the tutorial man, was stuck on this level for ages
Pics or it didn’t happen
I absolutely love all of your mini documentaries.
That means a lot Thank you Tostada. I'm really thankful to be growing so I can devote fair thought and time to each concept so thank you for your support. a simple sub, like, and comment goes a long way for the RUclips algorithm
Nico also said that his marriage was at stake and when you weigh fighting for another championship against chilling on Ibiza with your wife and kids and friends, I kind of understand his decision...
Niko may have grown up privileged but you still have to have the talent and work ethic to win the world championship. His was a personal challenge to himself, the fact that it was Hamilton only put a cherry on top of the dream ending.. I’ve watched some of his clips, he’s having a ball lol
And Hamilton didn’t grow up privileged? Wasn’t he hand picked by Mclaren? Wasn’t he put in a WCC winning car as a rookie?
I honestly cannot think of a more privileged driver
@@Bbrosvideos Because he was good okay..
@@aminatu8634 That much better than every other kid in Britain to be hand picked? No. There are numerous stories of him always being favored over other people
@@Bbrosvideos Because he was good that why they favored him
@@aminatu8634 Oscar Piastri is good, great in fact, but Zhou got a seat instead of him.
Why?
Is it because Zhou is better than piastri?
Man, I love your analyses. Your take presents an amazing premise that respects both drivers. The conceit makes us think more deeply about Nico's retirement instead of oversimplifying. I know these take time to put together so kudos to you, Great work!
Not that I seek the appraise but when feedback like this is given it makes it really easy to push on. Thanks Luis!
5:46 A young Rosberg and a young Nico 😂
Glad someone else heard it too. I had to listen to that a few times to make sure I wasn't dreaming 🤣🤣
Just goes to show how many people actually watch all vlogs before they comment - I was taken aback too...
Turn the difficulty level down, that’s how I beat him ;)
how to beat lewis hamilton? know him from childhood apparently
that's def gonna help you hahah
Doesn't work for Kubica.
Again... you can beat him, but only once. Then you have to quit, otherwise people will start expecting you to beat him again and that's just not gonna happen hahaha
Silas Ollegario I’m sure Leclerc and Vertappen can beat Hamilton several years in a row if you give them the exact same car. I think Vettel and Alonso would also still make a chance if you have them the exact same car.
@@JDYTC several in a row? like 3 or 4? very unlikely
Excellent video. You forgot one interesting detail if I may add. After the "hat incident" and Lewis clinching the title at the US 2015 GP, Lewis took his foot off the gas. Leading to Rosberg getting 3 poles and 3 wins in the last 3 races of 2015. Which, when you think about it, gave him momentum to get those 4 wins at the start of 2016.
Bottas after watching this video :
OK cool, now how do I beat Lewis Hamilton ?
be driver #1 on team. not happen when hamilton need 1 point. everything for hamilton.why he get paid so much when its so easy
Get a long contract then act like an arsehole till the team gifts you a championship so you'll leave
5:45 "you can see a young Rosberg, and a young Nico.." lol whoops
Haha ya not until recently did someone catch that
Thank you for your videos! I'm a new fan of F1, even though I have always had interest in racing, grew up playing every NFA game ever, but I never really got into F1 properly. Boy have I been missing out! And thank you for providing so much information to current rivalry and past F1 moments. My love for the sport is just increasing day by day. A great thing I found during this quarantine age!
He accomplished his goal, that isn’t running away.
It is
It is... no one it blaming him but it's just a lie they keep telling themselves to invalidate Lewis's achievements after
lol, what bs... people having other priorirties in life (specially for your family) is called "running away"?
@@11hitmanDagenius the type of person who cant balance his life with the sport surely doesn't know what his priorities are
it's too bad they didn't get along but 20 years from now it's going to make one hell of a movie.
People have to realize how much Nico did for that title. He took philosophy and meditation classes so that he could focus better during races. He had 2 hours of disciplinary training every 2 days so that he wouldn't make as many mistakes during races. He specially designed his gloves so that he would get the best race starts he could. He stopped using social media and watching the news so that he wouldn't be distracted by other things besides racing. He gave up cycling so that he could lose 1 kg of muscle weight in each of his legs. He spent hours a day talking to the race engineers learning everything he could about the car and how to get the very most out of it, and that was just after his loss in 2015. He's being doing stuff to a similar level his entire career. In 2006 at the age of 21 he scored the highest score ever in the Williams's Engineering Aptitude Test which tested the driver's knowledge on the car. He's never really been comparable in pure skill to drivers like Lewis, Max, Alonso or Vettel but his mind and focus won him races. He was an incredibly smart driver and definitely up their with Lewis when it came to speed.
That must have been grueling. I doubt anyone has ever worked that hard for a championship. I don't think Rosberg is the type of guy to give up without winning - if he was he wouldn't have went through that - so I think he probably would've went again for another season if he had lost the title but if he had already won a title before in his career and failed to win it in 2016 I think he probably would've still retired.
Rosberg pushed himself to the very limit for that title. He deserved to be able to retire without people saying he ran from Hamilton. He probably could've surpassed Hamilton completely even without DNFs if he wasn't satisfied with the win in 2016. He could've became the greatest driver of all time if he had kept going. But so could most people in the greatest driver conversation if they tried as hard as he did.
This channel is awesome. I can def tell u put a tremendous amount of time and effort in all ur videos. I love all of these f1 history documentary vids the most so keep them coming 👍
I was at the 2016 Abu Dhabi GP, that was a sad day. One I'll always remember. Another great piece. Well done mate I really enjoyed it. Thanks for putting this together. I look forward to more of these.
I would do ANYTHING TO BE AT THAT RACE. unreal. thanks for your support as always!
I've been looking for a breakdown of their battles for ages! I only got into F1 last year and a real breakdown was so hard to find. Fascinating! Looking forward to the Williams video!
His break down has a stint of bias in it. He glorified Nico’s win, but failed to state the fact that Hamilton had car issues in a significant amount of the races, he also failed to mention that Hamilton had more wins and podiums than Nico.
Vettel had the everything to beat Hamilton in 17 and 18 except, He was in a clown team unlike Nico.
@@xfg007 He would have spun out 11/20 races..... remember 2017?
Mercedes improved in the second half of 17. Vettel had lost 18 himself, after Germany he started spinning nearly at all races. He hasn't stopped till today, that's why he won't be at Ferrari at 21. the team started being really clown at 19 with Binotto at the team. They had the best engine but designed a shitbox, this year's full shit.
@@RacerzGTR you know why because the mcfucking Ferrari dont give him the doqnforce he needed to win
@@eronsebastianermino9989 2017 and early 2018 Ferrari had better aero efficiency, better tyre management, During the same time, Mercedes were having drag issues, and overheating tyres.... But somehow someone spun in a ferrari....
@@RacerzGTR you know im talking about the back end downforce right and ferrari always fucked up the strategie and the mid season they fucked up the upgrading and you know what fuck tifosi fans for blaming vettel that ferrari is bad what about the 2014 do ferrari fans blame the drivers no right now a 4time wdc is being blamed for not winning hahah nonsense they dont think that drivers dont manage and give strategy (vettel sometimes makes his own strategie cuz ferraris strategy sucks)
Wow I just loved how you summarized Nico's journey. I think he wouldn't have put it better himself.
It’s amazing, the difference in packaging from the ‘14 cars. The back of those cars look like a ‘70s Cadillac compared to this year. The bodywork on the merc looks shrink wrapped. Mclaren’s “size zero” was ahead of it’s time. Literally 100’s of thousands of R&D hours ahead of its time.
Hey Cranky Yankee F1, I love your Commentary and Historical Overview of these Two Great F1 Racing Drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg!!! Great Stuff!!!!!!! Keep up the Good Work!!!!!!!
So glad to hear!
Around 6:45 that’s gotta be Kubica! A generational talent and ‘11 crash is such a tragedy
What a great video! Never really find myself commenting on RUclips but wow! Great storytelling power!
I feel like these two are just like Senna and Prost/ Hunt and Lauda in a certain way. One with a ridiculous amount of talent that's rivaled by basically no one. The other one also with a lot of talent but just not as much. So he has to give everything he can to beat him and that's enough for him. Honestly I really hope they become friends again someday, it really would be the perfect ending.
I’ve always wondered about Nico’s luck in the 2016 season... but in the end, Rosberg played it safe during the last 4 races because he knew he didn’t have to take the risks. Had Hamilton been closer, the dynamic might have been different.
Even as a long time fan of Hamilton, seeing what Rosberg went through and the mental fortitude he showed even as the pressure mounted on him earned him my respect. And my god... that pressure was so immense...
Hamilton may always be the better driver and Nico had some luck, but in that moment, it was all eyes on him. Always second to Hamilton, it was his championship his to lose, all the while standing in shadow of his world champion father... In the face of this, he stayed calm, gave it everything he had and beat possibly the greatest F1 driver of all time.
For that alone, I give him credit. It’s not a story of who was the better driver, but one where a man defied all the odds to come out on top. A true underdog story. Well done Nico.
Largely agree but the notion nico was taking it easy in the final races, is false. He could've dnf'd with similar problems lewis had. No driver with a race winning car shoots for 2nd place. He got dominated plain and simple. Similar to what would've happen were there reliability parity. Likewise, I take nothing away from rosberg, he did the hard yards and reaped the benefits.
@@Bahamuttiamat He had all the pressure on him. Hamilton also had several brand new engines that could be deployed for more power than Nico's ageing unit had. So Nico had to race hard, but sympathetically.
As Jack says, the pressure must have been immense.
People talk about Malaysia and Hamilton's engine blowing. They never talk about Rosberg being punted by Bottas and being dead last by turn 3.
I would have liked to have seen Nico carry on, but he did what he wanted and who can blame him. I think he would have liked to have had a sabbatical, but contractually, he'd never have gotten it so he had to fully retire.
@Hypersonik Bottas never punted nico. That was seb. Bottas in fact speared lewis in Bahrain. If you're going to argue at least get your facts correct. Regarding the PU "advantage" which do you think lewis would've preferred? Brand new units that blew with 600km on the clock or perfect reliability throughout the season. Straw man's argument there bud.
@@Bahamuttiamat Aye, it was Seb. I'm thinking of another race where Bottas hit Rosberg. Either way, he got hit and was last by turn 3.
I'm sure Lewis would have preferred the engine to stay in one piece. However, Rosberg would have preferred not to have been punted. As it was Lewis failed to finish the race - benefit for Rosberg. Hamilton got several new engines, benefit for him.
So it isn't a straw argument in that it's not an argument, more an explanation of the situation.
Can we just say thank you to Toto Wolff for allowing these two greats to race each other even if it meant they’d touch again?
Here after the end of this crazy 2021 season. This is a great video! Well done 💯💯
I completely agree with your conclusion, thank you for making such a great video
Awesome show!!! Nico Rosberg did exactly what he should have. Respect to Nico and Lewis!!! Both great drivers, in their own way!!! 👍
What you failed to mention about 2016 is that Hamilton spent much of the year openly accusing Mercedes in the press of giving Rosberg a faster car. He was especially insistent about it after the Japan race. Pretty poor form.
When i was 11 or 12, my older brother challenged me to a playstation basketball game to which i had never played before. And miraculously i managed to beat him, so with his pride greatly hurt he insisted on a rematch. But i refused, partially because i knew that i had no chance of beating him a second time but mostly because i enjoyed seeing him so bitter about it.
As i recall the year nico won, hamilton had a lot of engine issues that year and it was even a suprise that his car was the only one with a mercedes engine that was having unreliable issues
And that the only way to beat Lewis(G.O.A.T)
@@polinaosipova1087 one of them in Malaysia where he was leading. Lost a whole 25pts.
One engine(Lewis) out of 8, having engine problem race in race out common nw.
I think what separates Hamilton from the rest of the drivers is his ability to come back from adversity and come back even stronger. If I remember correctly, Lewis was behind Rosberg in 2014 championship heading to the summer break and afterwards, he completely dominated the rest of the season to win the title. I reckon this probably played a part in Nico retiring after winning the 2016 title, he knew what losing a championship meant to Hamilton and he knew what would happen. Since then Hamilton has been dominating the last 3 seasons despite a Ferrari resurgence. Nico stayed consistent throughout and eventually luck fell to his side in the 2016 championship. If I was in his shoes, the amount of stress and mental toughness you need to fend off Hamilton is probably not worth it since he's already accomplished his dream.
100% all of this
"the amount of stress and mental toughness you need to fend off Hamilton is probably not worth it"
You forgot schumi as well. The ammount of mental games that guy had to endure probably his entire F1 career (since the guys at the top at Williams are known to not be the most supportive ever as well) is astonishing.
Ferrari right now:
WRITE IT DOWN!! WRITE IT DOWN!!!!!
Atharva Date 🤣
better hurry before F1 finds a reason to pull it down haha
They certainly got the crashing team mates part mastered :)
Who else is here after max became world champion
This gotta be one of the greatest F1 related videos that I've ever watched. If at any point you disagree with this content, you're a blind fanboy.
8:37 cracked me up 😂. But seriously, this is just another masterclass vid in your F1 Wars series. I really do hope this vid shows why Nico deserves so much more respect than just being a meme nowadays (although I actually do like it but at the same time, he shouldn't be fully remembered for that). But you know what still made me lost thinking till this day!? It's the fact out of the ppl who beat Lewis, it's a fucking RUclipsr 😱
hahah I'd actually love to see Hamilton's reaction to this. I carefully maneuvered the constructs and made sure not to diminish him. but I could still see him deep down hating it haha. thanks for the support as always brother. this was one of the easier ones bc i truly don't have a dog in this and it felt easy to stay objective. Now williams.... struggling a bit but i'll get it done haha by hook or crook.
If I beat a god in his prime, I'd quit too. He knew the odds of doing it again were slim to none so he quit to save himself the agony of defeat.
I don't think he feared defeat. He had proven himself and the world what he was capable of. There wasn't anything else to demonstrate, so he just quit.
The only thing Rosberg had to fear was becoming a backmarker over the years like Kimi, but to be fair to Kimi, he stayed because he sees it as a hobby and he is still a good driver. Rosberg wanted to prove he could do what he did, he won, against a bunch of world class drivers in their prime.
@@choobs8511 absolutely agree. Time is also playing in his favour by proving how much of a great driver he was, especially in 2016. Tbh I don't why people criticised him for retiring, he had nothing left to do
@@Alberto-ng2gs I hate the word quit.. quit is like saying he gave up after not succeeding.. he left on his own terms riding into the sunset with winning what he always wanted
new to F1 in general and had no idea who rosberg was only knowing hamilton. Great video hope you always enjoy making these.
Hamilton wasn't LUCKY to land in a Mercedes - he was head-hunted and took a risk to join Merc.
dude. literally said that. many, many, many times. like, many times haha
who doesn't know that? mclaren was in a downwards spiral by then
Lmao completely salty, lewis wasn't lucky to end up in Mercedes. And even in a equal car Hamilton has beaten a wdc cba with this bs that Ham doesn't deserve 6 titles
The problem is that the risk was born of desperation, not of ambition. Lauda talked about it a lot, as he was all but praying for a moment of weakness to arise so he could take advantage of it and coerce Hamilton into joining them. AFAIK Singapore was pretty much the deadline, and before that race, in spite of all the points he lost because of his car and his team, Hamilton wasn't interested, nor did he know that the MP4-27 was a dead-end car or that the MP4-28 was going to be such a disaster.
At that point, Hamilton wanted something, anything, that would guarantee him better luck and therefore a better shot at winning races and championships. It wasn't a calculated risk, it was an emotional one, and that very much is luck. It's a rare example of his emotional fragility actually working to his advantage, and that is in no small part due to Lauda's sheer genius.
I respect that he was chose to join Mercedes, but it’s fair to say he was lucky to join them at the right time. Imagine if he started his career at Mercedes then was head hunted for McLaren, he wouldn’t have won a world championship at all...
Can't wait for the "Hamilton V/s Verstappen" version of this
We need a video like this for the 2021 season
Now you can ask Max