Rosberg "would never have won another championship" after 2016 with Hamilton form
F1 News
- Nicolás Quarles van Ufford
Former F1 team owner Eddie Jordan thinks Nico Rosberg wouldn't have won any more championships against Lewis Hamilton after his title in 2016, when the German famously beat the Brit to the title before suddenly announcing his retirement from the sport.
Rosberg battled his childhood friend Hamilton for several years when the duo teamed up at Mercedes in 2013. The Silver Arrows weren't fighting at the top of the grid in that first season, but once the turbo-hybrid era kicked up in 2014, they started to dominate.
Hamilton was crowned champion in both 2014 and 2015, beating Rosberg to the punch, but their relationship came to a boiling point in 2016. In their most dominant year as a constructor, they often collided on-track, most famously when they took each other out at the start of the Spanish Grand Prix.
After somewhat surprisingly taking the title at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Rosberg suddenly announced his retirement only a few days later. According to Jordan, this was a smart decision.
"Nico is a clever one as he decided to retire as he would have never won another championship if Lewis continued the way he has just done," Jordan told Gulf News.
"Having said that Lewis is in his own realm. He can dominate the way he wants.”
Teaming up with Valtteri Bottas since 2017 onwards, Hamilton has won all three championships convincingly, with the Finn coming closest to his British teammate in 2019 as he won four races.