Former Alpine F1 boss Otmar Szafnauer has revealed that Lewis Hamilton used to hide Nico Rosberg’s football before a race to try and compromise his teammate’s focus. According to Szafnauer, Rosberg liked to juggle a football pre-race to help him focus.
Hamilton and Rosberg were childhood best friends turned bitter rivals during their time together as Mercedes teammates, as the pair’s rivalry is written in history as one of the fiercest in recent times. While the two had multiple contentious moments on-track, they also had a cold relationship off it.
Speaking on the High Performance podcast recently, former Alpine F1 team principal Otmar Szafnauer has shared a story about Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg from when they were teammates at Mercedes, revealing that Hamilton used to hide Rosberg’s football that he liked to play with before races, as part of a “psychological game.”
“Lewis is really good at the psychological games. Rosberg used to like to kick the football around before the start of a race to get his… Everyone does different things. We should explain. I see it all the time. Gasly does it, somebody dropping the tennis balls and you’ve got to catch it. Others kick the football around. Some do keepie uppies,” said Szafnauer.
“Rosberg loved to get ready for a race. Probably relaxed him, got his reactions sharp, and guess what Lewis used to do? He used to hide the ball. He also knew that maybe you need a little bathroom break before. He’d go in the driver’s bathrooms and stay there,” he added.
Lewis Hamilton won the drivers’ championship in 2014 and 2015, beating Nico Rosberg as his teammate, before the German driver returned the favor in 2016 and then retired. The Briton then went on to claim four more titles in the years that followed until his streak was broken in 2021.
Lewis Hamilton claps back at Ferrari changes rumors
Lewis Hamilton has responded to reports coming out from the Italian media suggesting that the 41-year-old wants personnel changes at Ferrari. Hamilton has denied any such claims, saying that he is looking to “empower” those at Maranello, and that the whole team is working together.
Hamilton took to social media to respond to these rumors on Thursday, as he wrote:
“I’ve seen some of the stories that have gone out and I want to clear it up here. I’ve never asked for anyone on my team to be replaced. Everyone I work with works hard every day, and their dedication is what moves us forward.
“I always try to empower and lift people to be the best versions of themselves or at least see the best in themselves. I may not always achieve that but it’s my intention and what I’m here to do. We all work together and that will continue.”
Lewis Hamilton sits third in the drivers’ standings with 191 points after 14 rounds of the 2026 F1 season. The 7x world champion is 20 points behind George Russell in P2, and a mammoth 101 points behind championship leader Kimi Antonelli.
Edited by Samyak Sharma