Why the latest Hamilton-Rosberg battle won’t have the same edge

It remains one of the most fractious team-mate partnerships of recent times and provided the defining rivalry of Formula 1 in the 2010s. Lewis Hamilton versus Nico Rosberg, the two old karting friends-turned bitter combatants for glory in the first three seasons of the turbo hybrid era, provided a compelling focal point for F1 at a time when a lack of opposition from Ferrari and Red Bull meant the Silver Arrows went into almost every weekend expecting to win.

But the enmity that developed between the pair - with flash-points at Monaco and Spa in 2014, then most memorably of all at Barcelona in 2016, allowing Max Verstappen to score his first win - only pushed both onto greater heights.

When Rosberg retired at the end of 2016, having clinched the world title at a tense Abu Dhabi finale, there was a sense that a great weight had been lifted from Hamilton's shoulders. With Valtteri Bottas joining from Williams to fill the berth, there was a clear hierarchy in the team - even if Toto Wolff would never admit as much - and Hamilton could get on with the business of seeing off a renewed challenge from Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel without having to worry about mind games from within his own camp.

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Naturally, there was plenty of anticipation surrounding the renewal of that rivalry when it was announced that Rosberg would be the figurehead behind the Rosberg Xtreme Racing team that will enter the new all-electric Extreme E off-road racing series next year, going up against - you guessed it - Hamilton's X44 team. Only this time, the stakes are very different.

For starters, Rosberg and Hamilton are about as likely to be driving for their own teams as UEFA is to ditch its Champions League theme and adopt Travis's 'Why Does It Always Rain on Me'. Despite his growing portfolio of interests, Hamilton is still fully committed to breaking records in F1 for the foreseeable future, while the odd demonstration drive in Formula E machinery and the VW IDR apart, Rosberg considers himself a retired racing driver these days.

He has embraced his new vocation as sustainability tech entrepreneur and proudly explained to select media including Autosport following Tuesday's series launch that his Greentech Festival event - "the leading technology festival in Europe" - attracted speakers such as Google CEO Sundar Pichai and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen this year. When asked how he'd feel watching his team from the sidelines, his response ("ask me again when the first driver of ours makes an error and lands in the trees!") was firmly tongue-in-cheek.

In their roles as team founders and CEOs, Hamilton and Rosberg will have a very different perspective to when they were team-mates (in the loosest sense of the word) at Mercedes. Rosberg of course managed his own affairs during his F1 career, but it's an altogether different game now - "I'm on Toto's side all of a sudden!" - and focusing on what Hamilton's team is doing will be only a minute facet of his role, rather than integral to his own actions.

"It's purpose is to drive positive change locally in the areas in which we're racing. That's just as big a focus as winning the championship" Nico Rosberg

Indeed, rather than the relentless ongoing battle for marginal gains that dominated the final months of his F1 career, the build up to XE getting underway in 2021 for Rosberg has been occupied by far more mundane pursuits.

"It's been paperwork like I don't know, loading up to the ceiling with paperwork," he says. "I didn't see that coming to that extent so much as a CEO, the amount of paperwork, that is definitely a downside [compared] to a driver!

"It's a different role. As a driver also you are still very heavily involved in the managerial aspect because you're a crucial ingredient of the team, but now being CEO is really core to putting everything together; choosing the drivers, choosing the operational team, the whole commercial side, the whole PR side. It's a great challenge, I very much enjoy it."

But there's another, altogether more significant factor which means the rivalry will have a different agenda this time. Extreme E's primary goal in staging its five races in areas adversely impacted by climate change is to shine a light on the issues facing these communities and to enact positive, lasting change in partnership with local leaders.

For both Rosberg and Hamilton, a vocal advocate of veganism who donated over £380,000 to combat the devastating bushfires in Australia earlier this year, the environment is an important priority.

Hamilton said he "jumped right at it" when the chance arose to "merge my love for motor racing together with my love for the planet" and while for such seasoned competitors the desire to win in XE will be as strong as ever, there's an implicit understanding that there is a mission that is greater than simply winning.

"The great thing here is that there's two verticals," says Rosberg. "Winning the championship, dominating the sport and also having that huge impact, it's two verticals which are just as important.

"Its purpose is to drive positive change locally in the areas in which we're racing. That's just as big a focus as winning the championship, so here with the racing team it's not only to win the championship but also to have just as big an impact."

Rosberg's team already has a partnership with the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, supporting its project in Senegal that aims to help people afflicted by drought using satellite technology to uncover areas where water is in greater supply. Rosberg speaks passionately about the subject of conservation, and while the opportunities for technical innovation in future seasons - following the template set by Formula E in its early seasons - is undeniably an important attraction, the series' capacity for educating evidently really enthuses him.

"It's pioneering that for motorsports, to be a platform to raise awareness but also to educate," he says. "Straight away what really struck me is how it's pioneering for motorsport to be a force for good and a platform for good in a way that's never been seen before and never been done before."

This is ultimately why the Hamilton-Rosberg rivalry repurposed in XE will be nothing like we've known it in the past. Both recognise that in the interests of this mission, having as many eyeballs on the series as possible will be key, and each commands a significant following on social media. Rosberg (1.5 million Instagram followers) even took the opportunity to highlight the value Hamilton and his 20.4 million Instagram followers will bring to the series in this respect.

"That's why I'm so happy that Lewis is joining us as well," he says. "We have this gift of having a huge awareness out there and a huge following thanks to what we achieved in the past.

"To be joining forces in this to really raise awareness for the threat of climate change and the damage that it's already doing in the areas for example that we're going to be racing, it's going to be really powerful and hopefully inspire many people also to contribute and to do their part in the fight against climate change."

Indeed, when asked by Autosport before the Portuguese Grand Prix whether he expected his and Rosberg's respective teams to continue their rivalry, Hamilton responded "I don't look at it that way" and pinpointed the twin goals of increased environmental awareness and technology development as his reason for getting involved. During Tuesday's launch, he went further in explaining that "providing opportunities for those from a more diverse background is naturally a priority" for X44.

All things considered, it's little wonder that the rivalry doesn't feature highly on their list of priorities. They might be slow to forget the past, but all indications appear that it is where the rivalry firmly belongs.