F1 Torque - with Michael Duffy

Seven News reporter Michael Duffy looks at the competitive relationship of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, plus the recent dominance of Mercedes.

Scratch a Formula One Driver and you'll catch a glimpse of a leather-jacketed bikie lurking just beneath the surface.

Sounds absurd, but the evidence of motorcycle lust in F1 is everywhere.

Vettel and Raikkonen love nothing more than leaving their Maranello machines behind and tinkering with bikes. Schumacher was another one.

Damon Hill raced bikes before cars and even Martin Brundle is devoted to his cruiser. Stylish sixties speed merchant John Surtees, even won both the 500cc and F1 World Championships.

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There are countless others. Far more rare, however, is the F1 unicyclist.

In fact, there are but two notable examples - Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton.

Their current rivalry at motorsport's peak stretches back to go-karts, shared rooms and pizza eating contests. Both are blisteringly fast and ruthlessly competitive.

So when young Nico mastered the unicycle as a young teenager, Hamilton decided to match him.

Anything you can do...

There's an old photo of the two, shirtless in the sunshine, unicycling on a paved area of the karting paddock.

It was all ahead of them then.

Fast forward to this weekend and Nico Rosberg took first place in Brazil at Interlagos, one step above his old unicycling partner. But Lewis is a three-times World Champion and Nico is fighting purely for pride.

It is a story that has the makings of a Hollywood blockbuster. But the story requires an ending.

Should Lewis continue to dominate next year, that ending will be somewhat hollow. But if the Mercedes can hold onto its dominance and Nico can take the fight to Hamilton and finally win a championship, it'll be one of sport's greatest comebacks. It would be a twist worthy of what has become one of sporting history's biggest rivalries.

When Mark Webber was Rosberg's teammate he dubbed him "Britney" for his manicured looks. But that is to underestimate his determination, which he has in spades. And a burning desire to win a championship like his moustachioed father Keke.

But if Nico can dig deep, and many think he can, 2016 could be one of the most incredible tales of sporting redemption we have ever seen.

Or maybe, Vettel will win every race in a resurgent Ferrari. That, sadly, is why there are probably so few F1 movies.

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS

EVER wonder what champions talk about?

A friend of mine, a fellow Formula One tragic is the son of an Olympic medallist. His dad's friend is also an Olympic champion.

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Many years into retirement the pair still talk about winning. All the time. They discuss how Australia can win more medals. They debate who needs to win more and why we're not winning enough. I am told these discussions can go all night.

Many hours into one such epic discussion, my friend interrupted.

He asked: "Just how much winning is, you know... enough?"

In unison, they barked: "You can NEVER have enough winning!"

It seems, to those hard-wired to win, there is no level of winning where they feel enough is enough.

And that's fair enough.

But it's the perennial gripe of F1 fans - to much winning by one team. What can we do to reign in the winning for Mercedes?
Before Mercedes it was Red Bull.

And before Red Bull, Ferrari and so on and so on probably back to when Fangio bored the baggy pants off fifties fans.

However, former driver and commentator Martin Brundle, reminded the F1 world what it was about in an off-hand comment this weekend.

To him, it's about: "Excellence, brilliance and delivering successes."

If you like that, then you have to love a dominant team like Mercedes.

HAMILTON CRASHES OUT OF MONACO

Lewis Hamilton crashed his $3.2 million purple Pagani Zonda at 3.30am last Tuesday.

He allegedly struck three parked cars in a bizarre crash that is still yet to be fully explained.

The three-time world champion described the crash as "light contact".

Sadly, that's about all we know. That's because journalists were banned from asking him questions about it in track press conferences.

It's sad the sport is sanitised and controlled to this extent.

Formula One is closely linked to road car technology, car sales and road safety programs that save lives.

If you're a Formula One journalist, asking questions about a road crash involving a driver isn't impinging on some private matter, it's part of the job.