Having first encountered one another in their early teens as they made the long climb up the ladder that leads to F1, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg were good friends... despite their competitiveness and backgrounds.

As expected, the relationship took a knock when the two GP2 champions found themselves in the same F1 team, and as the rivalry mounted, so the friendship began to fracture. Of course, the situation wasn't helped by the numerous clashes, the latest coming at Barcelona when the pair eliminated one another on the first lap.

However, to the surprise of many, possibly including Rosberg himself, Hamilton insists their relationship is "really, really good" and improving.

"It's actually really good with Nico at the moment," the Briton told the Daily Mail. "Really, really good. Surprisingly.

"I would definitely not have expected it to be where it is," he admitted. "I guess it is probably with age. He's a family man. He's got a kid. He has probably grown in that process and I have grown and come of age. The respect that we have always talked about is bigger than it has ever been.

"So now we generally just discuss things. Whether we're unhappy about something or not, we discuss it face to face. If I have a problem, I knock on his door and ask if I can speak to him privately. We never address it publically or in front of the team. So far, at least.

"We say straight up, 'Hey man, I wasn't cool with that'. And he does that to me as often as I do to him.

"The other day, I was swimming in my pool - the building we live in in Monaco, there is a shared communal pool - and I guess he saw me from his apartment and came down and sat on the diving board and when I finished a few laps, we sat and talked for 20 minutes or half an hour. In a relaxed state.

"We are going to have our ups and downs," he concluded, "and there are going to be times where we hate each other and when we like each other but ultimately, when we have all retired and got kids and stuff, the respect is always going to be there."