2016 Formula 1 World Champion Nico Rosberg was quick to defend former Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton on Saturday at the Hungarian Grand Prix, following a comment made by Christian Horner.
The Red Bull team principal featured on Sky Sports F1 after Max Verstappen was defeated to pole position by Hamilton, something which wasn’t expected.
Hamilton went 0.003s faster than Verstappen to claim his first pole position since the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, with the Dutchman having been forced to settle for second.
Horner insisted after qualifying though that Verstappen would’ve claimed pole if it wasn’t for a “snap at 13”, a statement Rosberg didn’t agree with.
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Rosberg instantly replied to Horner by informing him that Hamilton also had a couple of snaps on his final lap in Q3, meaning the seven-time World Champion could’ve also gone faster.
Despite Rosberg’s and Hamilton’s relationship at Mercedes having been frosty, fans loved that the German defended the 103-time race winner.
“I love how they’re not friends anymore but Nico is doing the lord‘s work for Lewis,” wrote @brakecheckalex on Twitter.
“Enjoyed that as well. Then sat there with a beautifully smug smirk on his face while Horner waffled,” said @PompeyPedro.
“Loved that, always excuses from them why max ain’t on top, never the other driver beat them with their skill,” commented @MattTomkins8.
Hamilton went on to be comfortably defeated in the race by Verstappen, who cruised to his seventh consecutive win and his ninth of 2023.
The Mercedes driver on the other hand had to settle for fourth, after being overtaken by Verstappen, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri at the first corner.
Sergio Perez also moved ahead of the British driver much later in the race; however, Hamilton ended up overtaking Piastri for fourth in the closing stages at the Hungaroring.
READ: Nico Rosberg’s verdict after Lewis Hamilton loses his voice
Verstappen won the race by over 30 seconds, to increase his lead in the Drivers’ Championship to 110 points.
As well as that, the Dutchman’s win marked 12 in a row for Red Bull, a new record for most consecutive wins by the same team.
Red Bull have the chance to make it 13 consecutive wins at the Belgian Grand Prix, where Verstappen also won last season.