Hamilton: Rivalry with Rosberg has been exaggerated

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Lewis Hamilton has said that the rivalry between himself and Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg has been “overblown”, and that the two remain friends despite their differences in Monaco.

The Monaco Grand Prix weekend was a frosty one in the Mercedes garage, with Hamilton and Rosberg going head-to-head on and off track. Hamilton was left fuming when Rosberg managed to secure pole position ahead of him under controversial circumstances, and was quoted as saying that they were no longer friends, merely “colleagues”.

However, the two have now cooled things down, and Hamilton wrote in his blog for the BBC that he believes that the story has been hyped up by the media.

“I’ve got to say that the whole rivalry thing with Nico has been overblown,” he said. “I tweeted last week to say that we’re friends and that’s the way it is , and the way it always has been.

“In this sport you do what you need to do to win the race. Nico was on pole and I had mission impossible in trying to get round him but everyone of those millions of people watching around the world knew that I was up for the fight. And I gave it a good shot.

“Of course, all the best F1 drivers don’t like losing. That’s a fact. We’re all here to win and people know I can’t lie and pretend to be happy when I’ve come up short. I want to win, pure and simple.”

Hamilton admitted that he had let his emotions get the better of him, but he is now feeling good heading into this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix, a race which he has won three times.

“In these moments, in the heat and noise of the battle, you can forget the bigger picture and with me I always feel better after I’ve slept on it,” he explained. “The next morning I get up and everything is still there outside my window.

“The immediate emotions start to subside, a sense of rationality taps on my shoulder and I realise that it wasn’t the end of the world as I thought it had been. I still had Canada and the rest of the season to look forward to!

“I’ve had the most positive week since the last race. I’ve just got on with doing what I thought was right. I looked back and studied what had happened and then I took the initiative and called Nico and we buried it. Now bring on the next race.”

The Briton will know that with victory in Montreal this weekend, he can re-claim the lead of the drivers’ championship from Rosberg. However, it remains to be seen just whether this rivalry does flare up again in 2014, and what the consequences for the team and the drivers would be.

Seattle Supercross by the numbers: Three riders separated by 17 points

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Three riders remain locked in a tight battle with 17 points separating the leader Cooper Webb from third-place Chase Sexton and these are only a few Supercross numbers to consider entering Seattle.

Seattle Supercross numbers
Chase Sexton made a statement in Detroit with his second win of 2023. – Feld Motor Sports

For the fifth time in 10 rounds. Sexton, Webb, and Eli Tomac shared the podium in Detroit. Between them, the trio has taken 23 podiums, leaving only seven for the remainder of the field. Jason Anderson, Ken Roczen and Justin Barcia have two each with Aaron Plessinger scoring the other.

Webb and Tomac won the last four championships with two apiece in alternating years, but they were not one another’s primary rival for most of those seasons. On the average, however, the past four years show an incredible similarity with average points earned of 21.0 for Webb and 21.3 for Tomac. With five wins so far this season, Tomac (23 wins) leads Webb (19) in victories but Webb (43) edges Tomac (41) in podium finishes during this span.

Tomac has won two of the last three Seattle races and those two wins in this stadium are topped only by James Stewart. Fittingly, if Tomac gets a third win this week, he will tie Stewart for second on the all-time wins’ list. Tomac tied Ricky Carmichael for third with 48 wins at Oakland and took sole possession of that spot with his Daytona win.

Sexton still has a lot to say and after winning last week in Detroit, he is speaking up. The Supercross numbers are against him entering Seattle, however, because a points’ deficit this large after Round 10 has been erased only once. In 1983 David Bailey was 47 points behind Bob Hannah, and like Sexton he was also in third place. Bailey took the points’ lead with one race remaining.

The seven points Sexton was penalized last week for jumping in a red cross flag section in Detroit could prove extremely costly.

In fact, it has been a series of mistakes that has cost Sexton the most. In the last two weeks, he lost 10 points with a 10th-place finish to go with his penalty. Erase those, and all three riders hold their fate in their hands.

Plessinger’s heartbreak in Detroit is still fresh, but the upside of his run is that was his best of the season and could turn his fortunes around. Prior to that race, he led only seven laps in three mains. He was up front for 20 laps in Detroit with five of those being the fastest on the track.

Last week’s win by Hunter Lawrence tied him with his brother Jett Lawrence for 17th on the all-time wins’ list. With the focus shifting to 250 West for the next two rounds, Jett has a great opportunity to pull back ahead. The real test will be at the first East / West Showdown in East Rutherford, New Jersey on April 22.

Last Five Seattle Winners

450s
2022: Eli Tomac
2019: Marvin Musquin
2018: Eli Tomac
2017: Marvin Musquin
2014: Ryan Villopoto

250s
2022: Hunter Lawrence
2019: Dylan Ferrandis
2018: Aaron Plessinger
2017: Aaron Plessinger
2014: Cole Seely

By the Numbers

Detroit
Indianapolis
Daytona
Arlington
Oakland
Tampa
Houston
Anaheim 2
San Diego

More SuperMotocross coverage

How to Watch Seattle Supercross
Dylan Ferrandis may return before SX finale
SMX develops “Leader Lights”
Power Rankings after Detroit
Hunter Lawrence defends Haiden Deegan
Results and points after Detroit
Chase Sexton wins in Detroit, penalized seven points