Perhaps since Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost, we had not seen an intra-team rivalry as intense as the one between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. The two Mercedes men gave the world of F1 one of the most enticing intra-team rivalries after the 2007 season (that featured Hamilton and Fernando Alonso at McLaren). The hard-fought battle that saw Rosberg come out on top in 2016, making him one of the few to beat two seven-time world champions on track, left the two friends scorned for life. Or so we thought.

After bad-mouthing each other for years, the German world champion, who retired right after winning the championship, has taken a U-turn on his rivalry stance. Let us reveal the change in outlook with the statement Rosberg made, as reported by Clubs1.

Nico Rosberg wouldn’t have been champion without Lewis “engine” Hamilton

After failing to beat his first rival in F1, his teammate in two successive seasons, Nico Rosberg took extreme measures in the 2016 championships season. He cut all activities that would give him extra muscle or weight and made sure everything about his life was focused on winning the championship with his dietary restrictions or being cut off from the outside world. He hired a sleep specialist and a therapist apart from all the professionals working on his team.

“I stopped eating ice cream. I cut holes in my car seat, and even shortened my socks. I used helmets only in black because they are not additionally colored, and this makes them lighter compared to the other options,” explained Rosberg.

However, despite all the efforts he put into winning the championship himself, the factor that made him push it to the limit was the Lewis Hamilton factor. Rosberg admitted this as he said, “But at the same time, Lewis was such an engine, he pushed everyone so hard, that without him I would never have achieved what I did.” [Translated by Google]

Read More: Lewis Hamilton’s Feud With Nico Rosberg Reignites as He Denies 7X Champ 2nd Extreme E Title

So even though the two Mercedes teammates were sworn rivals, Rosberg knows he would’ve never pushed himself hard enough if it wasn’t for Hamilton. However, this pressure he took upon himself made him retire soon after winning the championship. The German sought professional help even after leaving the sport. As it turns out, it wasn’t a one-sided affair.

Lewis Hamilton reveals the changes he made after reflecting on his past

Nobody’s perfect, and Hamilton definitely wasn’t. His on- and off-track antics have proved that time and again, but the Brit was always a thorough professional, or his talent always made up for it. However, as Hamilton has spent 17 years in the sport and matured, he has reflected on his past and made an honest admission about how he has changed from the past. He, like Rosberg, also sought professional help, which has made him a better driver and human being.

“I look back, and I see someone that was massively driven but someone that was struggling with a lot of things and didn’t have the tools to cope with some of the things that I was experiencing. I was reacting from those. I’ve spent a lot of the last six years doing a lot of self-work, and I can be just a better teammate and a better person and be about creating positive impact and creating opportunities for other people,” revealed Hamilton.

Watch This Story: Watch: Nico Rosberg’s Embarrassing Moment Facing Off Lewis Hamilton at the 2023 Spanish GP

Not just talent and physicality, F1 is a mental sport as well, or at least recruits a driver’s cerebral strengths to keep them at the top of their game. And these admissions from the two world champions should prove that.