How did Nico Rosberg get the nickname 'Britney'?

Nico Rosberg is a former F1 driver who raced in single-seater motorsport from 2006 to 2016. In his rookie year in the sport, he had a hilarious nickname, which was given by none other than his own teammate.

When Rosberg first raced in F1, he was with Williams, racing alongside Mark Webber. At the time, the young German had flowy blonde hair. Hence, Webber used to call Rosberg 'Britney', especially during discussions with his engineers and in debriefs. This was in reference to the famous pop singer Britney Spears, who also had long and lush blonde hair.

At the time, only Webber used to call his teammate 'Britney'. However, it gradually became quite popular around the paddock and even in the F1 fanbase, especially after a hilarious post by Nico Rosberg himself.

Back in 2010, before the Abu Dhabi GP, Rosberg tweeted about how someone stuck a picture of Britney Spears in his passport, replacing his own picture. Though the picture is no longer available with the tweet, here is the official tweet from 2010.

This particular tweet further made the nickname famous among the F1 fanbase. In the same year, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button both sang Happy Birthday to Nico Rosberg during the drivers' parade prior to the 2010 F1 European GP. When it came to saying Rosberg's name, both McLaren drivers said 'Britney!' rather than the German's actual name. All the drivers involved in the interview laughed after they finished and shook hands.

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F1 pundit believes Nico Rosberg would have stayed in F1 had he not won the title in 2016

F1 pundit Mark Hughes reckons Nico Rosberg would have stayed in F1 and at Mercedes for longer than 2016 had he not won the world championship. Speaking on The Race F1 podcast, he explained how winning the world title in F1 was Rosberg's mission and that his immediate retirement after winning proved that it was his only wish. Hughes said:

"How would it have played out if Nico had not won the title? For sure, he would have stayed on. He was on a mission to try and win the world title. It was the pinnacle of his, that is what he was chasing, which is why he was able to retire instantly as soon as he achieved it."

Furthermore, the F1 pundit believes that Mercedes would have kept both Rosberg and Hamilton, even after an intense battle between them in 2016. He added:

"I don't think there would have been any changes. I think the team would have just had to manage them as best they could. They were getting performance from them, [and] they understood that it comes with a certain amount of disruption when you got two drivers in the same team fighting for the world title. Of course there is going to be stress."

In the 2016 F1 season, both the Mercedes drivers gave everything and fought hard for the title.