Nico Rosberg spoke in the past about the mind games which he alleged Michael Schumacher to have deployed against him at Mercedes.<\/p>\n
Those \u201cstories\u201d have now been addressed by Michael\u2019s brother, Ralf Schumacher, who, while giving credit to Rosberg\u2019s 2016 World Championship win, accused his fellow German of \u201cmind games\u201d being his modus operandi.<\/p>\n
Ralf: Nico Rosberg \u2018still tells stories\u2019 about Michael Schumacher<\/p>\n
When Mercedes entered its works team into Formula 1 from 2010, it was Nico Rosberg, and the returning seven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher, who formed the first driver line-up.<\/p>\n
The duo spent three seasons together as Mercedes teammates, Rosberg outscoring Schumacher in all of them.<\/p>\n
Schumacher, not the force that he once was, retired for a second and final time after the 2012 season.<\/p>\n
Rosberg previously called Michael Schumacher \u201cMr. Mind Games\u201d<\/a>, an F1 icon who Rosberg alleged \u201cfrom the morning to the evening was just trying to get into my head\u201d.<\/p>\n He recalled Schumacher keeping him out of the toilet with minutes to go before qualifying, as an example.<\/p>\n Rosberg said that Schumacher had a \u201cwarrior extreme\u201d approach, one to show him that he was regarded as no threat at all. Such methods were not \u201cnatural\u201d for Rosberg, he said, but were of huge benefit when Lewis Hamilton arrived as Schumacher\u2019s replacement.<\/p>\n Rosberg later beat Hamilton to the 2016 title, and announced his immediate retirement from Formula 1 soon after.<\/p>\n In a Sport1 interview, Ralf claimed that Rosberg is all about \u201cmind games\u201d to this day.<\/p>\n Ralf had compared new World Champion Lando Norris with Rosberg. He said he was \u201cparticularly pleased that someone who acknowledges his weaknesses\u201d like Norris \u2013 known to be very self-critical at times \u2013 \u201chas become World Champion\u201d.<\/p>\n But, claiming that this \u201ctook a lot of strength on his part\u201d, Ralf expressed doubt that Norris could challenge the achievements of seven-time champions Michael Schumacher and Hamilton, or four-time champion Max Verstappen, as he suspects \u201cit takes too much energy for him\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are drivers who don\u2019t find this natural \u2013 like Nico Rosberg,\u201d Ralf added.<\/p>\n Within Ralf\u2019s comparison of Norris and Rosberg, was a blunt response to Rosberg\u2019s talk of \u201cmind games\u201d from Michael, as part of the comments he has made about his F1 career since retiring.<\/p>\n Ralf insisted that Rosberg \u201cshould have just put his foot down\u201d at the time.<\/p>\n \u201cHe stopped immediately afterwards,\u201d Ralf continued, speaking of Rosberg. \u201cHe himself said that he was shaking before the last start. To be honest, I was nervous, yes, but I never shook. That shows how much strength it takes.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone ticks differently. The fact that Nico is saying this so openly today is to his credit. It\u2019s not my view of things, but then I didn\u2019t become World Champion either. He became World Champion against a seven-time champion. That\u2019s quite an achievement.<\/p>\n \u201cNevertheless, you can see how he ticks \u2013 even today. It\u2019s always about mind games with him.<\/p>\n \u201cHe still tells stories about my brother \u2013 about alleged mind games in toilets or car parks. I know Michael. He was at a completely different point in his career.<\/p>\n More on Michael Schumacher from PlanetF1.com<\/p>\n F1 quiz: Can you name all of Michael Schumacher\u2019s race-winning circuits?<\/a><\/p>\n F1\u2019s greatest \u2018what if?\u2019 \u2013 The Michael Schumacher debut that almost went to another driver<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cUltimately, Nico should have just put his foot down. If he\u2019s behind a 40-year-old in Monaco, that says it all.\u201d<\/p>\n Both Ralf and Rosberg remain involved with Formula 1 following their racing days as pundits.<\/p>\n Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp<\/a> to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.<\/p>\n You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel<\/a> for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!<\/p>\n