Lewis Hamilton left F1 rival enraged with US GP antics as Martin Brundle unimpressed

Formula 1 returns to the Circuit of the Americas this weekend for an event which has become a modern fans' favourite. It's the United States Grand Prix which, except for in 2020 when Covid ripped up F1's original calendar, has been ever-present in every year since its first race in Austin, Texas back in 2012.

There have been plenty of memorable moments in more than a decade's worth of visits to The Lone Star State. But one of the most enduring didn't even happen on track - it occured a few minutes after the end of the 2015 race and took the rivalry between Lewis Hamilton and his team-mate Nico Rosberg to a whole new level of bitterness.

Things were already pretty tense between them, especially as Rosberg headed into that year's US GP staring down the barrel of finishing a second consecutive season as runner-up to his Mercedes team-mate. All Hamilton needed to do at COTA was out-score the German by three points and he would ensure he would finish the year ahead - and there were still three more rounds to go as the Brit romped to his third drivers' title.

Rosberg was leading the race in the final stages when he made a mistake which allowed Hamilton to pass and secure the title at the first opportunity. He was already clearly angry about that when sat in the cool down room before the podium ceremony, but still found the strength to put that aside and approach Hamilton as soon as the Brit entered, to give him a hug and congratulate him on his title success.

It was a warmly-received gesture, but things took a tense turn when, after removing his helmet and wiping his face with a towel, Hamilton tossed the cap for second place at Rosberg, who had retaken his seat in a chair. There was no obvious ill-intent from Hamilton as he did so, but it was not appreciated by his team-mate who took one look at the hat, which had landed in his lap, picked it up and launched it right back at the Brit.

No words were exchanged between them, but they briefly caught each other's eye as Rosberg stared with a stony-faced expression, while Hamilton showed no reaction after a swift glance at his team-mate when the cap came flying back in his direction. Hamilton later said it was "not something you expect to see from grown adults".

Sky Sports pundit Martin Brundle had sympathy for Rosberg and said of the incident: "I don't blame Nico Rosberg pre-podium for not appreciating having a second position cap slung across the room at him while he's quietly sitting and trying to come to terms with having just thrown away a race victory and handing the world championship over to his team-mate. Honestly, how would you have reacted?"

Rosberg went on to avenge himself the following year, beating Hamilton to the 2016 title before promptly retiring from the sport, having achieved what he had dreamed of doing since he was a boy. Hamilton is, of course, still active in F1 and has won seven titles so far, so it's hard to imagine he loses too much sleep over his old team-mate's success.