“Don’t know if he fully understands how happy I am”: When Lewis Hamilton voiced how ‘proud’ he was of childhood friend Nico Rosberg’s first F1 win

Lewis Hamilton once said that he was proud and happy for his childhood friend Nico Rosberg when he won his first F1 race. The latter achieved this win during the 2012 Chinese Grand Prix, racing with Mercedes alongside Michael Schumacher.

Hamilton and Rosberg were childhood friends. They raced in karts together and remained close for a very long time, as competitors on the F1 grid after the Brit debuted in 2007.

Rosberg had been racing with Williams since 2006 but joined Mercedes in 2010 as the team returned to the grid. At the time, the German manufacturer wasn't competitive enough to battle at the top. It wasn't until 2012 that the team witnessed their first victory in the hands of Rosberg in China. He converted his pole position to win, the first win for the team since Juan Manuel Fangio in 1955, and Rosberg's first F1 victory.

Lewis Hamilton, who finished the race in P3 for McLaren, disclosed his positive feelings for Nico Rosberg. He mentioned that he was proud of the German.

"Yeah, I'm proud of him, I'm happy for him and I don't know if he fully understands how happy I am for him, but it's special to have your first Grand Prix win, and pole, and he doesn't seem too excited," Hamilton said.

Hamilton added that Rosberg had always been very calm while reacting to success or failure.

"I was just over the moon when I won mine, but he's very chilled about it, but that's been his whole demeanor, his whole approach, his whole life. When we used to finish at the back in the day, he used to be chilled about it, when we used to win, he used to be chilled about it."

Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg became teammates in the 2013 season at Mercedes. The team would go on to dominate the grid in the turbo-hybrid era, and Hamilton won six World Championships between 2014 and 2020. Rosberg won the title in 2016 and retired after the season. The title fight in that season left a mark on their friendship.

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Toto Wolff on Lewis Hamilton's final races with Mercedes

The 39-year-old became quite the face of Mercedes as he dominated the grid between 2014 and 2020. However, the team's performance took a serious hit as the new aerodynamic regulations were introduced in 2022. Hamilton remained winless between the 2021 Saudi Arabian GP and the 2024 British GP.

Amidst this disappointing performance from the team, Ferrari got in touch with Lewis Hamilton and signed him for 2025. This move was announced prior to the start of the current season. Hamilton will depart Mercedes after the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and embark on a new journey with the Prancing Horse.

Reacting to getting into the final races with Hamilton, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff claimed that the race in Abu Dhabi could be overwhelming. He also said that the team is only "losing the driver" as Hamilton would be present on the grid with Ferrari.

"There is no overwhelming emotion now that this is ending... [but] the last race together will be quite a thing because we had this wonderful partnership for such a long time," Wolff said.

"But having said that, Lewis is not going to disappear. Lewis is going to be on the grid next year with a Ferrari. We are not losing the person, we are just losing the driver. But we embark on a new future."

Mercedes junior driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli is set to replace Lewis Hamilton in 2025 and will be partnered with George Russell.