"Nico hit me" - On this day Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg made contact in one of the flashpoints of F1's epic rivalry

The rivalry between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg is one of the most famous in F1 history. Both drivers raced with Mercedes and were hungry to win as many races and championships as possible. During their first championship battle in 2014, the seed of tension between the two was sown, particularly during a race.

In the 2014 F1 Belgian GP, Nico Rosberg was on pole position, while Lewis Hamilton was right behind him in second. The latter had a much better start and immediately overtook Rosberg before turn one. The German driver was somehow keeping up with Hamiltion as both tried to pull away from the rest of the pack.

However, on the second lap at turn eight, Rosberg's front right wing's endplate collided with Hamilton's rear left tire. This caused the tire to puncture, due to which the Briton completely lost control of the car, while Rosberg, even without the right end plate, was able to control the car and overtake his teammate.

Extremely angry with the aggressiveness, Lewis Hamilton immediately came on the radio and said:

"Nico hit me! Nico has hit me!"

Due to the puncture and other damages to the car, Hamilton had to retire from the race, while Rosberg finished second, scoring 18 points.

This was the first collision between Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton in the 2014 F1 season, and many would say that this was the starting point of their rivalry. Both Mercedes drivers went on to fight for the championship that year, which Hamilton eventually won by 67 points.

---

Lewis Hamilton aims to chase down Sergio Perez in the second half of 2023

Lewis Hamilton recently spoke about his current goals as the sport starts the second half of the season after the summer break. Though the seven-time world champion admits that Mercedes won't be able to be the fastest on the grid, he stated that he wants to score as many constructors' championship points as possible and chase down Sergio Perez on the drivers' championship table.

Speaking to F1.com, he said:

“My goal is to try and figure out how to have the best 10 races I’ve ever had in the second half of the season! Of course, we know performance-wise, we’re not going to blitz these races, but maximizing points every weekend, holding on to second in the Constructor’s Championship, and chasing down Perez… that’s my goal.”

Hamilton is currently fourth in the championship with 148 points, while Sergio Perez is second with 189 points.