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As Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg battled each other for the 2014 F1 title, the desert duel between the two went down in the history books as one of the most classic wheel-to-wheel battles on track.
While the Briton fought for his second title, the German was fighting for his maiden title, however in Bahrain's first night race the former emerged a winner instead of the latter.
By the 2014 Bahrain GP, both Hamilton and Rosberg had won a race each, a battle that ensued amidst an enthralling desert night race. It was the first time the two Mercedes drivers had gone head-to-head in an on-track battle that marked the commencement of the 'silver wars' of the V6 turbo hybrid era.
The German had first made his move on lap eight, however he was persistent right up to the checkered flag, until the Briton claimed the win. Despite a safety car that played to Rosberg's advantage, he was unable to get past a defensive Hamilton.
Reflecting upon the race in a Mercedes team video, Lewis Hamilton said:
"The car behind had better tyres and had the advantage. It was very difficult, but I used every trick in the book and he fell for every trick in the book. So it worked out well. "
Although the Briton claimed the title that year, an on-track clash between the two in Belgium sparked a rivalry that ended when the German claimed his title in 2016 and retired soon after.
Nico Rosberg believes his 2014 Bahrain GP battle with Lewis Hamilton was the toughest race of his career
The former Mercedes driver revealed in a video on his YouTube channel that the 2014 Bahrain GP was one of the biggest on-track battles he had with Lewis Hamilton. Despite his relentlessness and persistence, he succumbed to his British counterpart who had the better defense.
Reminiscing the 2014 Bahrain race, the 2016 world champion said:
"That was the biggest battle I ever had and the toughest loss ever. That loss was proper to digest. After such a battle, I thought all the way- 'Im gonna win this'. In the end Lewis still managed to keep it together and win."
Rosberg initially thought he would win the race from pole, and despite countless attempts to get ahead of Hamilton, the German succumbed to the Briton's on-track wizardry. The former world champion reflected upon the race as one of the most relentless on-track battles of his F1 career.
Reflecting on the wheel-to-wheel battle, Rosberg said:
"It's horrible being on pole and then getting beaten off the line...And here I though it was going to be easy, I'll easily beat him. And then this battle just kept going on and on and he really did a good job..They were a bit tense at the pitwall. Even Dieter Zetsche was writing messages to Toto- 'What the hell are those guys doing on the race-track? Stop that now'. "
Rosberg revealed that the intensity of the battle on-track had also led Mercedes CEO Dieter Zetsche to message Team Principal Toto Wolff to stop the on-track battle. However, Mercedes' policy of letting their drivers race prevailed. The former F1 driver believes Lewis Hamilton had better control of the race that day than he did.
