page_title: Hamilton–Rosberg rivalry
section_title: 2016 season: Rosberg prevails
hierarchical_section_title: Hamilton–Rosberg rivalry / Team-mates in Formula One (2013–2016) / 2016 season: Rosberg prevails
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Pressetermin Lukas Podolski und Nico Rosberg, Airport Köln-Bonn
context_page_description: The Hamilton–Rosberg rivalry was a Formula One rivalry between British racing driver Lewis Hamilton and German racing driver Nico Rosberg. The rivalry was most prevalent during their four years as team-mates at Mercedes from 2013–2016, a period in which the two drivers dominated the sport. The pair's relationship became strained and, at times, led to volatile confrontations on and off the track. It has been compared to the Prost–Senna rivalry.
  As teammates, Hamilton and Rosberg won 54 of 78 races over four seasons. Hamilton had 32 victories, 55 podium finishes and qualified ahead of Rosberg 42 times. Rosberg had 22 victories, 50 podium finishes and qualified ahead of Hamilton 36 times. During this period, Hamilton won the Formula One World Championship title twice, and Rosberg won the title once.
context_section_description: After losing the title in Austin in 2015, Rosberg went on a seven-race winning streak, which included the first four races of 2016. Coming to the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix he led Hamilton by 43 points, who then claimed pole position ahead of Rosberg. After a good start for both men, Rosberg passed Hamilton around the outside of Turn 1. Coming through the next few corners, Rosberg's car entered an incorrect engine mode due to an error the German had made on the formation lap. That meant he was slower than Hamilton coming out of Turn 3, and Hamilton moved alongside Rosberg to overtake for the lead. Rosberg then forced Hamilton on to the grass where he lost control, eventually spinning into Rosberg and taking both drivers out of the race. While both drivers blamed each other for the incident, the stewards deemed it a racing incident reasoning that Hamilton had been justified in his attempt as he was 17 kilometres per hour (11 mph) quicker than Rosberg coming out of Turn 3. Team chairman Niki Lauda apportioned blame toward Hamilton, lamenting the missed opportunity to secure a race win, saying "Lewis is too aggressive. It is stupid, we could've won this race". Afterwards, Hamilton insisted the incident did not harm his relationship with Rosberg, which he later admitted had mellowed since 2014.
  At the 2016 Austrian Grand Prix, Rosberg, struggling with a brake issue, looked on course to win. But in the final laps Hamilton closed in and a mistake from Rosberg at Turn 1 on the last lap gave him better drive on the long run to Turn 2. Hamilton picked the outside, moving alongside Rosberg as they approached the corner. As Hamilton turned in to make the corner, Rosberg went straight on, causing a collision and damaging the German's front wing. Hamilton would pass to win the race, while Rosberg would drop to fourth in the final corners. Both drivers blamed the other, while furious team boss Toto Wolff threatened team orders in future races. The stewards blamed Rosberg for the incident, issuing him two penalty points for failing to allow "racing room" and causing a collision.
  In the final race of the 2016 season in Abu Dhabi, Rosberg entered the round with a twelve-point lead over teammate Hamilton in the World Drivers' Championship. In the final laps of the race, Hamilton defied team-orders, first from his race engineer and then by the team's technical director, and deliberately slowed to back Rosberg into the chasing pack at end of the race in a bid to encourage rivals Vettel and Verstappen to overtake his teammate, which would have allowed him to win the World Championship. Despite Hamilton's tactics, Rosberg finished in second and clinched his maiden World Championship by five points over Hamilton.
caption: Rosberg retired five days after winning his maiden World Championship title, the first reigning champion to do so since Alain Prost.
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