Pit Stop | Pit Stop: Lewis Hamilton's mind games just shows he's hungry for success
Comments about nationality unlikely to faze Nico Rosberg, but it won't stop Briton having a go
Just how German do you have to be to be considered a German driver in F1? Ahead of this weekend's German Grand Prix, there has been a suggestion Nico Rosberg may not be all that German after all.
Of course, this comment comes not from the German government, but from Rosberg's teammate Lewis Hamilton.
It's all part of the mind games that F1 drivers play, and Hamilton will deploy any card to gain an advantage as the two-horse race of the F1 world championship reaches the halfway mark.
The white noise of posturing from Hamilton's side of the pit garage is looking to seep into Rosberg's consciousness
He told newspaper about his time karting with Rosberg: "We would have to go on the start line and all the drivers would have to stand next to a grid girl in a line.
"The girls would be holding the flags or a sign saying Hungary or whatever, and he always stood by the Monaco one. He never stood by a German flag. He is German-Finnish-Monaco-esque, or whatever. So it would be great to win in Germany."
The truth of the matter is that Rosberg is German, having been born in Wiesbaden. But his father is the Finnish former F1 champion Keke, and Rosberg moved to Monaco when he was four months old. So maybe Hamilton has a point, although he is standing on thin ice.
After all, this is guy who played some mind games earlier in the season by rubbishing his own birthplace in the UK: "Let me tell you this: I come from a not-great place in Stevenage and lived on a couch in my dad's apartment, while Rosberg grew up in Monaco with jets and hotels and boats, and all these kind of things, so the hunger is different."
