When Nico Rosberg’s 2016 Formulation 1 Championship battle got here all the way down to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, he was left with one last impediment: Max Verstappen.
Reflecting on his title battle, he recounted the ‘horrible’ second when he realised his hopes of leaving the weekend victorious got here all the way down to passing the Dutchman. He thanked the now four-time world champion, who saved it clear when the 2 went wheel to wheel.
After a protracted, gruelling 2016 season, Rosberg held the championship lead with the trophy and title in sight by the ultimate race in Abu Dhabi. Coming into the weekend, he wanted a top-3 end to take his maiden title.
Nevertheless, because the race progressed, Lewis Hamilton held the lead and backed the sector up, leaving Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen threatening his hopes.
Talking on the Past the Grid Podcast, the German described what it felt prefer to be advised he wanted to beat the Dutchman, who on the time was broadly generally known as ‘Mad Max’.
“Ah, horrible, horrible,” Rosberg stated, talking about Hamilton’s technique within the race, “Yeah, he was unfolding his technique, and it was working. It was working completely. He put me behind Max Verstappen with that technique.
“I ought to by no means have been behind Max Verstappen, and immediately I’m behind Max Verstappen, the worst man to be behind. It was Mad Max on the time. It was a 50-50 likelihood of a crash in case you ever tried to go him or no matter. 50-50.
“So Lewis, it was working. His technique was working. Yeah. And understandably, he has to do one thing. So he tries one thing, and it was working.
“After which in all probability essentially the most excessive second in my entire profession is when Tony Ross, who I’m so grateful for as a result of I’ve my entire profession to type of thank him for, I did yearly apart from one with him as my engineer, and there are lots of folks to thank, however Tony Ross could be one, comes on the radio and says, ‘Nico, your championship is in danger. It’s good to now go Max Verstappen within the subsequent two laps.’”
Whereas Rosberg has a championship to struggle for, Verstappen was nonetheless proving himself in F1. He’d shortly change into one of many drivers you didn’t need to attempt to go, which Rosberg remembers worrying about within the second.
“What? You don’t go Max Verstappen. Like, it’s not one thing you do. Your championship is in danger. Like, what’s that? The place does that come from?” He stated.
Nevertheless, he did make it previous the Dutchman, securing his title. Even now, a decade after one of many defining moments of Rosberg’s profession, he praised Verstappen for a way he raced in that second in 2016. He went on to say he was ‘without end grateful’ for Verstappen.
“Wonderful transfer, and without end grateful to Max as a result of he performed it pretty, left the house,” added Rosberg. “Eternally grateful, like, wonderful. Thanks a lot, without end.
“After which I come out of that, and my subsequent thought, I feel you can begin to understand that there was fairly an depth mentally occurring right here, so then I come out of that, and my foot begins shaking a lot from worry and adrenaline that I’m uncontrollable on the throttle pedal.
“I’ll by no means have that in my life once more. I’ll by no means expertise that. I’d by no means had it earlier than. The foot goes uncontrollable, leaping. The entire foot is leaping from adrenaline, from Max.”
READ MORE: Australian F1 legend and first Williams champion Alan Jones dies