Rosberg: I respect Lewis, but we are not friends... and there's nothing sweeter than beating him

Rosberg, who leads the drivers' championship by a single point after finishing third behind Hamilton at the British Grand Prix, spoke to The Guardian.

“I have huge respect for him but, well, we’re not best friends at the moment," Rosberg said of his childhood friend.

"That’s the difficulty between us now. We’re just both so competitive and that makes it difficult to be friends because the competition is so extreme.

"It was the same back then. How many pizzas could we eat? Who could run fastest from the lift to the hotel room? It would be competition all the way but there was not the surrounding influence with a team, the media and money. That makes it difficult now...

[BLOG: Best Of Frenemies: How Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg went from best buddies to feuding team-mates]

"I do recognise his achievements. He’s done some great things and he’s been beating me. I have to fight back and that’s the awesome challenge.”

That challenge, so far, has been one that Rosberg has failed to tackle. He and Hamilton have been involved in a long series of controversial incidents - most notorious of which came at the Belgian Grand Prix two years ago, when Rosberg took his team-mate out in a manner so outrageous that it proved counter-productive: Hamilton burned with righteous fury as he embarked on a run of victories which brought him the championship that season.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has threatened to bring in team orders after more trouble this season, notably in Austria, and Rosberg admits that he has found it difficult to balance his ambition with his responsibility.

"It’s very difficult to find the right line," he said. "I have a duty for the team and for them it’s so important to win the constructors’ title but where is the line to my ego and what I want?

"It’s always difficult. But this is my racing family.”

Rosberg insisted that he is not downhearted at having seen a lead of over 40 points reduced to just one over the past few races. Hamilton has won the past two driver titles.

"I’m feeling great. The battle is on with Lewis," Rosberg said. "If I focused on points and championships I’d be massively disappointed because I was 40-whatever points ahead and now it’s one but I’m not focusing on it. So it’s not affecting me in any way.”

The Austrian explained that he always knew the run of victories he enjoyed at the start of the campaign could not continue.

“I always reminded myself to stay within reality. It’s not possible for a run like that to go on forever. There will be difficult times again,” he said. “Momentum does play a role. We’ve seen it with Lewis and I from 2014. We’ve always gone in waves.

"It’s strange but it must be time for his wave to be ending now."

He remains positive, particularly given the strength of his car this season.

"I’ve been very successful and I hope to get more success. My dream is to win the world championship and I’m fighting for that. I’m giving it everything," he said.

"This is a special period. It’s almost unique in F1 history – to have such a [dominant] car for such a long period.

"Every race I can be on pole if I do well – and I can win. It’s unreal...

"It’s just a great opportunity. Of course it helps for motivation when you’re fighting for wins. If we were 12th and 13th it’s not the same. Fighting for the title is incredibly intensive."