Former F1 world champion Nico Rosberg was among the distinguished attendees to join the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix, and for a brief period, was also part of Sky Sports’ newly-unveiled Formula 1 broadcast for children. Rosberg opted to join an interview with a couple of young presenters. But the excitement didn’t last for long, as a rather annoyed Mercedes champion eventually stormed out after being insulted.
While the main race was underway at Hungaroring, the German was busy engaging with one of the junior reporters in what seemed like a rather enjoyable interview. When asked about a secret, Rosberg decided to share the story revolving around his infamous nickname, ‘Britney’, given by his former teammate, Mark Webber.
When Rosberg made his F1 debut in 2006, he was sporting retro-style long blonde hair, almost resembling American pop singer, Britney Spears. Citing the similarities, Webber addressed Rosberg as ‘Britney’, but only within the Williams garage.
However, all hell broke loose when Rosberg crashed into the wall at the 2006 Brazilian Grand Prix while attempting to beat Webber into the pit lane after the pair came together and dealt damages to both cars. The Australian soon alerted the team on the radio, “Britney’s in the wall.” This mere radio message eventually turned out to be one of the most unforgettable moments of the sport.
‘Britney’ insult fumes Nico Rosberg at 2023 Hungarian GP, demands apology
During the Sky F1 interview with the junior presenter, Rosberg disclosed his nickname in Formula 1. “Do you know the nickname they used to give me? Can you guess? I had long blonde hair. What was the nickname? The other drivers gave me,” the German said and awaited a response from the other side.
“Britney Spears,” the young presenter replied with a mild shock on her face. Subsequently, Rosberg acknowledged and further added the details revolving around the birth of his nickname. “Yes. They called me Britney. Was that cool? That was not cool, right? So, once I crashed, Mark Webber drove past and he came on his radio and he’s like, ‘Britney’s in the wall guys, Britney’s in the wall’,” he concluded.
👀ROSBERG ŞOK OLDU!
🤷Sky Sports F1 çocuk muhabiri canlı yayında Nico Rosberg’e ‘Britney’ dedi. Bu duruma alınan Rosberg yayını terk etti.
👱Hatırlanacağı üzere Rosberg’e ‘Britney’ lakabını 2006 Brezilya’da Mark Webber takmıştı.
🇭🇺#HungarianGP | #F1pic.twitter.com/PzQBCvxXqp
— Eau Rouge (@eaurouge_ps) July 23, 2023
However, it wasn’t until the interview came to an end that Rosberg encountered an insulting moment. The presenter said, “Good luck Britney! I hope you do well.”
Unsurprisingly, Rosberg did not enjoy the comment and instantly demanded an apology. “Okay, that was not cool, okay? I shared my secret there with you. That was not cool though, okay? Please apologize.”
The “sorry” did come from the presenter which he wholly accepted but Rosberg was still very much unhappy. The German world champion removed his headphones and stormed off without bidding the interviewers goodbye.