Szafnauer lifts lid on Lewis Hamilton ‘psychological games’ with Rosberg

Lewis Hamilton knows how to play “psychological games” according to Otmar Szafnauer, who recalled examples deployed against Nico Rosberg.

Szafnauer was in the Formula 1 paddock as Force India team boss during the Hamilton and Rosberg partnership at Mercedes. Szafnauer witnessed Hamilton hiding the football that Rosberg used to get his rhythm before a race, while another stunt he claimed to see was potentially influenced by fellow F1 icon Michael Schumacher.

Lewis Hamilton would hide Rosberg’s football, says Szafnauer

It was a Mercedes driver pairing which will forever be memorable. Hamilton and Rosberg went from childhood friends and teammates to bitter rivals in the pursuit of world championship glory.

During an era of dominance for the Silver Arrows, coinciding with the arrival of the V6 turbo-hybrid era, Hamilton won the 2014 and 2015 crowns before Rosberg struck back to win the title in 2016.

In the days following his sole world championship win, the German announced his immediate retirement from Formula 1.

During an appearance on the High Performance Racing podcast, Szafnauer claimed that there were two psychological games which Hamilton used to play on his teammate.

At the time, Szafnauer was team principal at Force India.

“Lewis is really good at the psychological games, which, I’m sure you would like to hear,” he began.

“Rosberg used to like to kick the football around before the start of a race to get his… Everyone does different things. We should explain. I see it all the time. [Pierre] Gasly does it, somebody dropping the tennis balls and you’ve got to catch it. Others kick the football around. Some do keepy uppies.

“Rosberg loved to get ready for a race. Probably relaxed him, got his reactions sharp, and guess what Lewis used to do? Hide the ball. He used to hide the ball.

“He also knew that maybe you need a little bathroom break before. He’d go in the driver’s bathrooms and stay there.”

Szafnauer was informed that this trick was also deployed against Rosberg by another former teammate, Michael Schumacher.

Podcast presenter Jake Humphrey said: “In Monaco. Rosberg needed a pee, and ended up standing in the back of the garage, peeing in a bottle.”

The American responded: “So Schumacher did it. So Lewis probably learned.

“But, Lewis, hide the ball, I like that.”

More on Lewis Hamilton from PlanetF1.com

The Hamilton delusion: How Lewis set himself up for more disappointment at Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton denies Ferrari team changes call as rumours swirl

Following Rosberg’s retirement, Hamilton won four further titles with Mercedes in consecutive seasons between 2017-20. That took his overall tally to seven, matching Schumacher’s record.

The Brit went on to join Ferrari in 2025 and has since taken a grand prix with the Scuderia, achieved at the 2026 Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix. His overall tally of 106 grand prix wins is a Formula 1 record.

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