The Telegraph gives this summary of the "battle" thusfar:
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How the Lewis Hamilton- Nico Rosberg rivalry unfolded1 Pre-season calmThe pair are pictured going for a stroll on the beach in Melbourne, as they prepare for the first race of the season. Both are confident their history and friendship will enable them to keep matters cordial. But as Rosberg admits in an interview with Telegraph Sport: "It will definitely be harder, yes. The more success we have, the tougher it is."
2 First on-track encounter in BahrainAfter losing the lead at the start of the Bahrain Grand Prix, Rosberg is chasing Hamilton hard. After diving down the inside at turn one, Hamilton cuts back across the German, narrowly avoiding his front wing. Rosberg's protest over team radio is the first sign of disquiet: "Tell him that was not on!"
3...Later in the race,Rosberg uses an unauthorised overtaking mode on his engine in his quest to take the win. He fails, and is left downbeat finishing second on a weekend when he felt he was the quicker driver. “I was disappointed because I do not like coming second, especially to Lewis.” News of the engine mode does not emerge until their fractious weekend in Monaco.
4 Spanish Grand PrixNow, protecting his ever-diminishing lead in Barcelona, it is Hamilton’s turn to use all the toys at his disposal, without the permission of the team. The Briton apologised, but Rosberg was hurt. "Nico had felt aggrieved by what had happened in the race and I guess this is really normal,” Toto Wolf, team boss, said. “It’s never going to happen again.”
5 Silver spoonsThe pair had remained deferential and polite in the media, but ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix, Hamilton added some spice. Signposted with the phrase, “let me be clear”, Hamilton went on to say that his comparatively humble upbringing in Stevenage gave him a different kind of hunger to Rosberg. Or, more bluntly, you grew up with a silver spoon in your mouth and you don’t know what it is to fight.
6 Monaco qualifying controversyThe moment when trust between the two was severely damaged. Was it irreparable? Rosberg locks up on his final run in qualifying, and the resulting yellow flags prevent Hamilton from challenging for pole position. The Briton was ahead so far on his lap, and on course to take an absolutely crucial pole position. Rosberg is later cleared by the stewards of any wrongdoing or foul play.
7 Taking a page out of Senna’s bookIn the immediate aftermath of qualifying, Hamilton did little to hide his frustration, quite the opposite in fact. He said that Rosberg had “potentially” tried to “screw him over”, and flatly refused to accept the German’s apologies. References to dealing with the situation like Ayrton Senna had done left many fearing a first corner collision on Sunday.
8 Rosberg victorious in MonacoWhatever Niki Lauda told the drivers before the race worked. They steered well clear of one another at the first corner, but Hamilton’s keep up the chase for most of the race. Only some dirt in his left eye curtailed his challenge. Rosberg won comfortably in the end, proving just how vital the events of qualifying were to the race result. The German recaptures the championship lead.
9 'We are not friends' After the race Hamilton is clearly still smarting over the whole affair. The pair do not share a glance or a handshake on the podium, and travel back to the paddock in separate minibuses. Hamilton says that the two are “not friends”. Then he continues his not-so-subtle argument about Rosberg’s qualifying mistake as he refers to some “data” he has seen which he believes substantiates his argument.
10 An uneasy truce?Five days after the race in Monaco, Hamilton speaks to Rosberg and now tweets that they are still friends and that they have “no problem”. The timing of the tweet, minutes after a Sky Sports debate on the subject, arouses suspicion in some quarters. Even if the tweet came about through Hamilton’s own volition, it is hard to imagine it not going through his or Mercedes management. Whether the two will ever agree on what happened in Monaco remains unlikely, but for now at least they have done a (publicly) passable job of smoothing things over.
