Rosberg named the reason for Hamilton's move to Ferrari.

      Nico Rosberg named an unexpected reason why Lewis Hamilton decided to move from Mercedes to Ferrari. According to the 2016 world champion, that reason is the number of sponsor events a driver has to take part in during a season. At Mercedes the number reached as many as sixty a year, whereas at Ferrari it is far fewer.

      Nico Rosberg: "I'm not supposed to talk about this, but for drivers taking part in sponsor activations is a pain. People might say to me, 'Shut up, you're paid so much, and all you have to do is attend a sponsor event, shake a few hands and take a few photos.' But I keep insisting that it really is painful.

      One of the reasons Lewis moved to Ferrari is the sponsor commitments — or rather, the reduction in their number. Ferrari's brand is so strong that they can afford not to involve their drivers in promotional activities.

      I heard that Sebastian Vettel was once required to do only ten sponsor days a year. And that's really valuable, especially at the end of a career. Obviously, that was one of the reasons why Lewis decided to move to Ferrari."