Nico Rosberg has acknowledged the ‘Rosberg curse’ and has set about making Max Verstappen his next victim after a historic run of dominance.
Active F1 fans on social media know that a pre-race Rosberg selfie usually carries a penalty for one team or another, and recently it hit Ferrari at their home race.
Starting from first and third on the grid, the Scuderia drivers failed to maintain their form and deliver a first victory in over a year, after Rosberg posed on the pit straight with the caption ‘Forza Ferrari’ pre-race.
“Oh yes, so this is the curse thing,” he said on Sky Sports F1’s Podcast. “I even tried this weekend to do a neutral background, because I thought I don’t want to cause any problems here.
“[I put] Forza Ferrari because the whole weekend is about that and all of us are wishing for Ferrari to win.
“That would be a bit aggressive if I then take a picture with Max [Verstappen] before a race, that would not be cool, I think. But I’ll do it anyways!”
With the Singapore and Japanese Grand Prix double header approaching, Verstappen is safe for now with Rosberg not scheduled to make a return to the F1 paddock until Qatar.
By that stage, Red Bull could have extended their current winning streak to 26 of the last 27 races, and Verstappen to 12 in a row as they look set to become the first team in F1 history to win every grand prix in a season.