Rosberg planning 'clear the air' talks with F1 team-mate Hamilton
Nico Rosberg says he and Mercedes Formula 1 team-mate Lewis Hamilton plan 'clear the air' talks to ensure their fierce Bahrain Grand Prix lead battle did not leave any animosity
The pair produced one of the hardest-fought intra-team victory battles in F1 history at Sakhir, with Hamilton narrowly prevailing after countless side-by-side moments through the race.
Rosberg said there was only one occasion in their dice when he had any complaints about Hamilton.
"The only example which I thought was above the limits was where I came on the radio," he said.
Don't slam Mercedes if it all goes wrong
"All the other examples were really tough racing but with the necessary respect."
Asked which incident he had taken exception to, Rosberg replied: "The rate at which he was pushing me out, because if the rate is too fast I will struggle to avoid the accident.
"If you're on the inside you're the boss, it's your corner as long as you're in front."
But he underlined that most of the battle had been fair.
"Let's go for the majority at Bahrain, which was tough but respectful racing," said Rosberg. "Let's stick with that rather than picking out one minor example."
He said it was still important for the team to dissect events at Sakhir.
"It's completely normal that as a team, when there are situations or races where a lot has happened and which are intense battles, you are going to sit down and discuss," Rosberg said.
Secret Mechanic: friends or enemies?
"We make sure everybody knows everybody's opinions and we review and then completely put it behind us and push on full attack."
Although Rosberg was defeated by Hamilton in the end, he said he was happy he had been sufficiently aggressive.
"In hindsight I found that for me I attacked quite a lot and went for it," said Rosberg.
"Even when I was not even close to being in a position I just dived down the inside and gave it a go, so I thought my attacking mode was pretty much there and anything more would have on more than one occasion meant we wouldn't finish the race."
Be part of the Autosport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments