2016 Formula 1 Champion Nico Rosberg Believes in Sports for a Purpose

BuzzApril 10, 2021

They say you can’t keep a racer away from the tracks forever, and Nico Rosberg is living proof of this. After quitting in 2016, former Formula 1 World Champion Rosberg is back in the racing world. Only this time, he’s not behind the wheels but supporting a team full of enthusiastic young racers for Extreme E.

Getty Images | Since his retirement from racing, Nico Rosberg has shown his support for sustainability by backing green technologies and new-age mobility startups

But if you’re thinking we’re going to talk about one of the races he’s contributed to, well, think again. Today, we’re going to applaud the ex-champion for his thoughts on sustainable sports. Join us as we share a few bits from his recent interview.

Here’s what Rosberg has to say about sports

Nico Rosberg has been a firm believer in sustainability. Since his retirement, he has backed numerous green technologies and mobility startups including the electric Formula E. The 35-year-old believes that sports must have a pre-defined goal in sight. He said that football should promote crucial sustainability issues, and similarly, Formula 1 should focus on turning to synthetic fuels.

Rosberg wants to inspire the sports world to embrace a purpose, and for achieving this goal, he’s relying on his team – RXR (ROSBERG X RACING), which is a part of Extreme E. He praised the Soccer European Championships for adopting a sustainable model and said that we should all try to instill the same in our championships.

NBC Sports | Rosberg wants to inspire the sports world to embrace a purpose, and for achieving this goal, he’s relying on his team RXR

Pointing out that F1 is yet to serve a greater purpose for the human race, Rosberg suggested that people at higher platforms should use their voices to raise awareness for climate change.

He wished that the sport uses technology to innovate synthetic fuels to help people globally. Acknowledging a few contributions, he said F1 has already helped a lot with its light materials and hybrid engines, but can do even better by adopting a sustainable model.

Read – Extreme E’s Desert X Prix

The equation between Hamilton and Rosberg

On being probed about his bond with Hamilton, the ex-racer opened up that the former not-so-good relation has evolved with time and reached a neutral level. Hamilton, who owns a team named X44 in Extreme E, would be competing against RXR in the 2021 season. He also joked that it would be great to recreate “Lewis VS Nico” in Extreme E.

FYI, Rosberg and Hamilton shared a bumpy relationship when they drove for Mercedes between 2013 and 2016. During the interview, Rosberg recalled that several times he and Hamilton have bumped into each other in various shops in Monaco, however, their meetings have been very ordinary.

Turbo Celebrity | Rosberg and Hamilton shared a bumpy relationship when they drove for Mercedes between 2013 and 2016. In 2021, Hamilton’s team (X44) will be competing against Rosberg’s team (RXR)

Updates on 2021’s Extreme E season

2021’s Extreme E season kicked off on April 3, 2021, in the desert of Al-‘Ula in Saudi Arabia. After a fierce match, RXR emerged as the winner while X44 and Andretti grabbed the second and third positions respectively. Despite this, it would be too soon to underestimate the other teams, so let’s wait and see what happens in the next race on May 29, 2021, in Senegal.