Martin Brundle shares what Nico Rosberg did on the Formula 1 grid, which no driver has done since

Rosberg made his F1 debut with Williams in 2006 after winning the GP2 series. He spent his first four seasons at Grove before joining Mercedes in 2010 as partner of the returning Michael Schumacher.

He defeated seven-time world champion Schumacher during their three-year partnership and won his first Grand Prix in China in 2012. The following year, Hamilton joined from McLaren.

They had been good friends, but from early 2014, when Mercedes became F1’s dominant team, their relationship deteriorated. Hamilton won the title that year at the double points final in Abu Dhabi and did so with several races to spare in 2015.

However, the German found another level in 2016 to avoid a dramatic battle. Hamilton and Rosberg collided twice during the course of the campaign.

Nico Rosberg is the only driver to thank Martin Brundle for the praise in his experts

After retiring to spend time with his family, Rosberg has remained active in F1 through the media. He attends selected races throughout the year and sometimes works with Sky Sports F1’s Martijn Brundle.

Speaking on the recent Sky F1 podcast, Brundle revealed that Rosberg is the only driver to ever thank him for kind words in his expert duties. He did this on the grid for a race in Malaysia.

Brundle, who has worked in television since the 1990s, is now one of the best-known figures in the F1 paddock. He has inevitably angered many drivers with his comments over the years.

He said: “No one ever comes up to you and says, ‘Thank you so much for what you said about us last week’. I had it once: it was Nico Rosberg.

“He came to me in Malaysia – it was about a million years ago – and said, ‘I’d like to thank you for what you said about me last weekend.’ I said, ‘I really appreciate that, because you’re the first driver who ever said something like that to me – and the last, for that matter.’

Why Lewis Hamilton is not as ‘mature’ as former Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg

On talent alone, Rosberg seemed no match for Hamilton. Before 2016, he realized he had to dedicate himself fully to F1 if he wanted to have a chance.

Fortune was on his side. Hamilton was relegated to the back of the grid in China due to technical problems, was unable to participate in Q3 in Russia and, most notably, suffered an engine failure while leading the Malaysian GP.

But Rosberg also achieved important victories over his teammate in Azerbaijan, Italy, Singapore and Japan. He understood the importance of capitalizing when Hamilton was not at his best.

A former Mercedes engineer noticed an important difference between the two drivers. Rosberg was ‘more mature’ than Hamilton when it comes to the use of data, a key part of success in modern F1.

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