Nico Rosberg admitted that his respect for Lewis Hamilton was immense, as is the satisfaction he gets from beating him, but that a friendship between the two is very difficult.
The Mercedes pair are locked in a fierce battle for the world championship with the German leading his team mate by a single point on the eve of the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Rosberg hit the ground running in 2016, scoring four consecutive wins but the defending world champion has fought back, winning four times since Monaco, and now appears to have the momentum.
Several on-track clashes, the last of which occurred on the very last lap in Austria when Rosberg attempted to defend his lead at all costs only to hand victory to Hamilton, have tinted the relationship between the two drivers who have known each other since, and raced against each other, since their childhood days in karting.
Speaking to the Guardian while enjoying some time off in Ibiza, Rosberg opened up about his relationship with Hamilton:
"Beating Lewis … he’s one of the sweetest opponents." the German said.
"He’s one of those opponents where you get the greatest satisfaction from beating him because he’s world champion.
"I have huge respect for him but, well, we’re not best friends at the moment. That’s the difficulty between us now. We’re just both so competitive and that makes it difficult to be friends because the competition is so extreme.
The competitive spirit between the two men hatched when they were just two kids with a dream of one day reaching the pinnacle of motor sport.
"It was the same back then. How many pizzas could we eat? Who could we run fastest from the lift to the hotel room? It would be competition all the way but there was not the surrounding influence with a team, the media and money. That makes it difficult now.
"I do recognise his achievements. He’s done some great things and he’s been beating me. I have to fight back and that’s the awesome challenge."
While Rosberg admits the momentum is currently on his opponent's side, he believes that is about to change.
"Momentum does play a role. We’ve seen it with Lewis and I from 2014. We’ve always gone in waves. It’s strange but it must be time for his wave to be ending now.
"But, yeah, it’s difficult to have a race like Silverstone. Second place — I could have lived with that but to lose points and finish third? That’s tough."
Many believe it is now or never for Rosberg to achieve his goal of finally winning the world championship, but the German feels no desperation while on his quest but will give it his best shot.
"Fighting for the title is incredibly intensive. The actual driving doesn’t change much but it’s such a difficult situation because you’re racing together and, at the same time, against each other. That’s a unique challenge.
"My dream is to win the world championship and I’m fighting for that. I’m giving it everything."
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