Lewis Hamilton snubs Nico Rosberg phone call as rivalry takes new twist

F1: Can Lewis Hamilton do it again?

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Nico Rosberg has revealed that Lewis Hamilton has not called to congratulate him on his maiden Extreme E victory. The two F1 legends have both entered teams into the inaugural off-road event, reigniting their rivalry from 2016.

Five years ago the two Mercedes team-mates battled it out in the same machinery for the F1 Drivers’ Championship.

Tension built behind the scenes as the duo took their fight down to the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi.

Rosberg went on to get the better of the Brit and he proceeded to retire while on top.

Hamilton used that setback as further motivation to go on and equal Michael Schumacher’s seven world titles.

However, now Hamilton and Rosberg are rivals again having entered teams in Extreme E, which kicked off last weekend.

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Rosberg Xtreme Racing Team won the opening race of the season in Saudi Arabia, while Hamilton’s X44 came in third.

Rosberg was in attendance all weekend to closely manage his new outfit and Hamilton watched on from afar.

A nice congratulations message may have been shared between the two, if they had not lost one another’s numbers.

When asked if Hamilton had called, Rosberg told Sport 1: “No, but he probably would if he had my number.”

“Still, how cool is that we are now competing against each other as team bosses and are also first and second in the championship? It’s funny that the duel now continues here.”

When speaking to Sky Germany about Hamilton, Rosberg added: “Our teams were in duels all weekend. Sometimes his team was first, sometimes mine. It was a really big duel and in the end we were able to decide it our way, which made me very happy.

“But that will certainly continue throughout the season. The beauty of it is that the more intense our duel becomes, the more attention we can draw to the series – to the issues we are campaigning for, like fighting together against climate change.”

Another F1 world champion in Jenson Button has also entered a team in Extreme E.

And Rosberg explained what he feels will be the key to success in beating his fellow on-track rivals.

“I have to take a deep breath first,” he explained. “It was such an intense weekend.

“Everything is so new, I can really support my team with my experience as a racing driver – and I try to do that as well as possible.

“Without p***ing off the team or the drivers, of course (laughs). That’s why it’s so intense – because it’s so high-risk out there.

“For the drivers it was a constant exploration of the limit. Every third person has dropped a sevenfold rollover. That’s why I’m so happy about our driver pairing.

“I would say that with Johann Kristoffersson and Molly Taylor we have the two best drivers on the team.”

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