Rosberg: It couldn't have got any better than beating Lewis!

40

The 2016 Formula 1 world champion Nico Rosberg has said that he couldn't have hoped for better than signing off his racing career by winning the title over his former Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton.

"That's what I was racing for, that sort of battle," Rosberg said at the weekend. He was answering questions from Twitter as part of a YouTube Q&A session.

"It doesn't get better than that, to battle against one of the best of all-time in the same car as you. Awesome."

"To come out beating him in the very end, better than that is not possible," he added. "That's why it gave me such fulfilment also for my career.

"It couldn't have ended in a better way, and the opponent counts in that."

Rosberg and Hamilton had been friends since their early days in karting. However the pressure of being Mercedes team mates both competing for the world title took its toll.

The relationship between the pair grew increasingly fractious in 2015 and seemed to break down altogether in 2016. However Rosberg insisted that the situation hasn't been as bad in reality.

Rosberg names the one race for which he would return to F1

"In private he's a good guy," Rosberg insisted in response to being asked if Hamilton had been annoying.

"Of course it's always different the way you get perceived on camera, and the way you are in that big F1 world," he said. "But in private I can say he's a really good guy with some good values and everything.

"We were really good friends back in the day," he added. "And I still have a lot of respect for him and always will have.

"I hope maybe with time one day we can get back to getting on better."

Hamilton has so far showed little sign of getting in back in touch with his former frenemy.

But Rosberg will be around the Grand Prix paddock a lot more this season, after taking on a role as pundit for German broadcaster RTL. He follows in the footsteps of another former champion, Niki Lauda, after the Austrian's decision to relinquish the role.

His new media duties could even mean Rosberg interviewing Hamilton on the grid before a race - which could make for some interesting viewing!

Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.