Valentino Rossi feels the F1 rivalry between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg was similar to his rivalry with Jorge Lorenzo in MotoGP

Valentino Rossi has compared the intense rivalry between former Mercedes F1 team-mates Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton to his own rivalry with Jorge Lorenzo in MotoGP.

Speaking on the American talk show In Depth with Graham Bensinger, the seven-time premier class MotoGP world champion said:

“They (Hamilton and Rosberg) are more friends compared to me (Rossi) and Lorenzo because I think that they raced together from karting. But it’s very similar you know. It’s two top riders with the best team, the best cars and for us (in MotoGP) it was the best bike.”

“The problem is that you fight for the same goal. So, you have one moment when your road does not go straight. Usually, the tension is very high. It’s very difficult to fight. And it is not easy because everybody wants to win.”

Similar to Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg at Mercedes, Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo were teammates at Yamaha between 2008 and 2010 and developed a fierce rivalry battling for the championship.

Rossi feels tensions between him and Lorenzo peaked at the 2009 Spanish Grand Prix. Throughout the race, both had engaged in an intense battle for the lead, racing at over 160 mph, while being mere inches from each other. Heading into the final few corners on the last lap of the race, Lorenzo led Rossi, but the latter regained the lead on the very last corner to snatch victory.

While not as exciting as Rossi and Lorenzo’s battle in Catalunya, Hamilton and Rosberg often engaged in similar battles in F1 between 2014 and 2016. Their “duel in the desert” at the 2014 Bahrain Grand Prix is often considered one of the greatest races of the last decade.

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Nico Rosberg reveals how his relationship with Lewis Hamilton “spiralled” out of control

Nico Rosberg revealed the moment his relationship with then Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton went awry. Speaking on his podcast Beyond Victory, the German driver said:

“I know exactly where the spiral started and it was actually where one of us did something where the other thought that it was on purpose, but actually it was not on purpose. It was an accident. A minor thing, which was definitely like almost beyond the gray area, but not on purpose. And the other one and the whole team and the engineers thought it was on purpose.”

Rosberg and Hamilton had a rocky relationship throughout their time at Brackley, and often clashed with each while battling for the championship. Their conflict came to a head during the latter part of 2015, after Rosberg lost the championship for a second time to Hamilton.

Determined to deny the Briton the championship in 2016, Rosberg launched an intense title offense, taking four successive victories at the start of the season. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton was beset with reliability problems, hampering his ability to fight back.

Heading into the now infamous Spanish Grand Prix that year, Rosberg comfortably led Hamilton in the standings, and took pole position for the race. Desperate to overtake Rosberg for the lead, Hamilton made a mistake into turn four and collided with his teammate, taking both Mercedes cars out of the race.

In the season finale in Abu Dhabi, Hamilton was leading the race, but needed Rosberg to finish outside the top four to earn his third successive title. He therefore (controversially) tried to back up his rival in P2 into the clutches of a charging Sebastian Vettel in a desperate attempt to win the championship.

Despite Lewis Hamilton’s best efforts, Nico Rosberg held on to his position and finished behind his teammate. His stellar performances throughout the season and sheer determination finally earned him the title at the end of the year.