Did the Nico Rosberg curse cost Lando Norris in Canada?
Nico Rosberg has empathised with Lando Norris's psychological struggles in F1 2025
The Nico Rosberg curse appeared to strike again at last weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix after McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris made contact.
Piastri and Norris collided on Lap 67 of 70 at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in the first major on-track skirmish between the McLaren team-mates and F1 2025 title contenders.
Nico Rosberg curse strikes again as Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri clash in Canada
Norris was out on the spot after the collision on the main straight, with Piastri finishing fourth after a precautionary tyre change under Safety Car conditions.
Norris immediately owned up to his mistake over team radio before seeking out Piastri to apologise directly to his team-mate in the TV pen in the paddock.
Although Norris was officially classified in 18th place, his failure to see the chequered flag in Canada has seen Piastri extend his lead in the Drivers’ Championship to 22 points ahead of next weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix.
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Rosberg, the 2016 World Champion and former Mercedes driver, was on site in Montreal in his capacity as a Sky F1 television pundit.
And the German’s famous ‘curse’ seemed to strike again in Canada, where he posted a selfie to social media of himself on the starting grid, close to the area where Norris and Piastri later made contact.
In the accompanying caption, Rosberg wrote: “Are you ready?”
Rosberg’s comments were flooded with a series of witty replies after the race, with one user saying: “Wait Norris crashed here.”
Another said: “Bro jinxed Norris.”
What is the Nico Rosberg curse?
In an amusing trend, Rosberg’s selfies have proved something of a kiss of death over recent years with a number of drivers suffering misfortune.
Charles Leclerc, the Ferrari driver, memorably failed to start his home race in Monaco in 2021 after Rosberg took an image of his car on the grid.
Rosberg posted an image of himself standing in front of Max Verstappen’s car outside of the Red Bull garage ahead of qualifying at the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix.
Verstappen’s run of five consecutive pole positions ended that afternoon as he was pipped to pole by Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes.
The following day, Rosberg took a similar image of Hamilton’s car outside the Mercedes garage with the caption: ‘Go Mercedes today!’
Hamilton went on to suffer a disastrous race, slipping from first on the grid to fourth, more than 39 seconds behind the race-winning Red Bull of Verstappen.
A week later at Spa, McLaren posted an image of a sign in the team’s garage reading: ‘No Rosberg selfies.’
In the accompanying caption, the team wrote: ‘We’ve seen your jinxing powers.’
Rosberg replied on Twitter, commenting: ‘”Haha…heading to your factory for a selfie.’
After Carlos Sainz claimed a fine pole position for Ferrari at that year’s Italian Grand Prix, Rosberg posted an image himself from the podium ahead of the race start with the caption: ‘Forza Ferrari.’
Verstappen ultimately led a Red Bull one-two finish at Monza to secure a record-breaking 10th consecutive win with the Ferraris of Sainz and Leclerc forced to settle for third and fourth respectively.
More on McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri from PlanetF1.com
Norris was also the unwitting victim of the last instance of the Rosberg curse in 2024, when the 2016 title winner took an image of himself on the grid in Budapest.
Rosberg wrote on that occasion: ‘Let’s go Hungary F1! Who have you got for the win? I got Lando Norris!’
Norris, who started from pole position, eventually finished second after following McLaren team orders, slowing in the closing laps to allow Piastri to claim his maiden F1 victory.
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