Lewis Hamilton’s former Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg was devastated to miss the championship title in 2021 after his old teammate missed out.
Despite Lewis Hamilton missing out on the Formula One world title in Abu Dhabi last month, Nico Rosberg said he suffered ‘incredible pain’ after his former teammate was unable to take the crown.
In December, Hamilton was left heartbroken when he lost out on a record eighth world title to eventual winner Max Verstappen on the final lap of the season.
Apparently, the English driver wasn’t the only one to feel despair after the dramatic finish, as his former teammate Rosberg expressed the same sentiment.
“I felt pain, incredible pain. I don’t have anything to do with Mercedes now, but of course it’s my family from before, and an incredible pain,” Nico Rosberg said.
“They were 99 percent sure they were going to win the World Championship until there were three laps to go.”
“After losing it, and losing it in a fight like that, where they couldn’t do anything because the tyres had 50 laps on them, unbelievable pain.”
After Verstappen took advantage of a contentious call by FIA director Michael Masi, the Abu Dhabi race was a dramatic one, but no doubt tainted with controversy too.
With just a handful of laps to go, Masi controversially allowed only five lapped drivers to pass the safety car, eliminating the comfortable lead Hamilton had over Verstappen.
A one-lap shootout was the only option open to the title rivals after the safety car and lapped racers cleared the track, and it was the fresh tyres of the Dutchman that gave him the edge late on.
Rosberg regrets that the FIA made such a strange decision, which left many in the racing world bewildered.
Mercedes manager Toto Wolff admitted that Hamilton ‘lost faith’ after how things played out, much like his old teammate.
“He won the World Championship until the last lap, and then everything is taken away from you from one second,” the Mercedes boss said.
‘Of course you lose faith because you can’t understand what has just happened.”
“’I just need to do the utmost I can to help him to overcome the feelings that he has in order for him to return strong with a love of the sport and trust in the decision-making of the sport next year.”
