‘Fell for Every Trick in the Book’ – Lewis Hamilton Reflects on His Epic Duel with Rosberg in Bahrain

Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg have had one of the fiercest Formula 1 rivalries of this era. The childhood friends were teammates at Mercedes, and intense competition took over their relationship.

The hybrid era’s most popular rivalry was introduced to the world at the Bahrain Grand Prix in 2014. Lewis Hamilton looked back at a few pictures from that day and remembered the duel with his teammate Nico Rosberg.

He recalled, “The car behind had better tyres and had the advantage. It was very difficult, but I used every trick in the book and he fell for every trick in the book. So it worked out well.”

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The beginning of the Lewis Hamilton-Nico Rosberg rivalry

The 2014 Bahrain GP ended with a great result for Mercedes. Lewis Hamilton eventually won the duel with Nico Rosberg; however, this marked the beginning of a rivalry that, at times, presented some tough management situations within the team.

Nico Rosberg started the race on pole position. However, Hamilton overtook Rosberg at the start and gained a healthy lead after the first pit stop. Then, a safety car came out, and that closed the distance between Hamilton and Rosberg. Rosberg was now behind Hamilton on a fresher pair of tires.

The team’s executive director was adamant on letting the pair race. Paddy Lowe said, “It is something that we owe to ourselves; we owe to the sport and owe to the drivers. They are professionals and you want to give them the opportunity to race, which is what they do.”

The pair did not disappoint as they put up a spectacle of a race for the fans.  The battle went all the way to the checkered flag, but Hamilton who finally triumphed the circuit by crossing the finish line before his teammate.

This season is at its last leg, going into a triple header with two races at Bahrain. Hamilton won the championship in 2014 and has already won the championship this year. However, knowing Hamilton, he will want nothing less to win the remaining races of the season.