Nico Rosberg was forced to give his F1 World title over to Lewis Hamilton :

2016 World Champion Nico Rosberg revealed the quite brutal way the World Championship trophy was taken from him to be given to successor Lewis Hamilton.

Rosberg rose to the Formula 1 summit for the one and only time in his career when he beat Hamilton to the 2016 World title, the pair having been locked in a rivalry as Mercedes team-mates which became more tense as the time went on between 2013-16.

And Rosberg clinching the 2016 title on the final day of the season in Abu Dhabi proved to be the final chapter of this rivalry, with Rosberg announcing just days after that he was retiring from Formula 1 with immediate effect.

Rosberg was able to enjoy the fruits of his labour by receiving the World title trophy, though detailed what happened to it from there. And as it turns out, he does not have any replica to mount in the trophy cabinet in the present day.

With Hamilton going on to return to World title prominance in 2017, Rosberg discussed how the trophy was taken from him, bundled into a car boot and driven over to his former rival.

“You have to give the World Championship back!” Rosberg stated during his Sky F1 punditry duties at the Spanish Grand Prix.

“You only get to keep it for a year. I had to give it to Lewis.

“No, I had someone pick it up from my house, put it in a boot and drive it to Lewis’ home. That was not cool!”

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Following that 2017 title triumph, which made Hamilton a four-time World Champion, the Brit has gone on to add another three to equal Michael Schumacher’s record by becoming a seven-time champ.

That eighth title continues to prove elusive for Hamilton though, who since controversially losing out on that record on the final lap of the 2021 season in Abu Dhabi, has been unable to mount a fresh challenge in far weaker Mercedes machinery.

The recent extensive upgrade package for the Mercedes W14 has though re-ignited hope that Hamilton will get another chance at title number eight, with the team having taken a clear step forward at the Spanish GP, even though Red Bull remain comfortably the dominant force.