Lewis Hamilton breaks 'Nico Rosberg curse' unlike Max Verstappen and Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton’s record-breaking ninth British Grand Prix victory brought an end to the ‘Nico Rosberg curse’. F1 folklore dictates that whenever the 2016 world champion takes a selfie with a driver or gives a team his backing, their fortunes take an immediate turn for the worse.

On Sunday morning ahead of the race, Rosberg nailed his colours to the mast. Speaking to Sky Sports F1, he said: “Who am I going to go for? I’m going to go for Lewis Hamilton today… because I think Mercedes are looking really good and his race pace here - I remember it because I had to compete against that - it’s really really strong on this track.

“So somehow I feel maybe he can do the Lewis magic and make that work. But it’s not going to be easy because Max has the fastest car today since it’s fixed. Lando is quick also, so it’s going to be challenging.”

Considering his track record, this should have been a death sentence for Hamilton’s chances of winning. Rosberg’s ‘curse’ had, until now, boasted a faultless strike race after claiming multiple victims during the 2023 campaign, including Max Verstappen, Ferrari and the seven-time world champion himself.

At the Hungaroring last year, Rosberg posted from the Red Bull garage. Then in qualifying, Verstappen failed to take the top spot after a string of six successive pole positions. Instead, it was Hamilton who put his car on the front row of the grid.

Then, ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix, Rosberg posted from the Mercedes garage. The curse clearly played its role in stopping Hamilton from converting his pole position, as he experienced a poor launch, losing multiple positions on the run down to Turn One.

The curse struck again in Monza. At the Italian Grand Prix, Rosberg comfortably predicted that Verstappen would take pole, but Ferrari came up trumps, locking out the front row. In celebration, the retired German racer posted a selfie with the caption ‘Forza Ferrari’. The following day, however, Red Bull secured a one-two finish.

Fortunately for Hamilton, the ‘Rosberg curse’ didn’t hold him back in front of his home crowd on Sunday. The Brit held off a late charge from Verstappen to seal a historic and emotional victory after a 56-race winless streak spanning back to the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.