Former Formula 1 driver Nico Rosberg admitted it was tough to witness his former teammate Lewis Hamilton appearing so dejected after a poor showing at the recent Spanish Grand Prix.
Following the race last Sunday at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, where he finished sixth, Hamilton described his afternoon as “terrible” during his post-race interview and stated he didn`t “know what to say.”
Despite aiming for his first podium finish with Ferrari after securing a promising fifth-place starting position (matching his best qualifying result of the season), Hamilton initially overtook former Mercedes colleague George Russell. However, he soon faced difficulties with a lack of grip from his car.
During the first stint, Ferrari asked Hamilton to allow his teammate Charles Leclerc to pass. Later, Russell successfully undercut him during the second round of pit stops, and after a late Safety Car period compressed the field, Sauber`s Nico Hulkenberg also managed to overtake him.
Reflecting on Hamilton`s post-race comments, pundit Rosberg commented, “It`s hard to watch.”
“Sunday was a horrible day for him because he was simply slow on track, which is very unusual,” Rosberg said. “Yes, sometimes his qualifying pace has been slightly off, but in races, he`s typically outstanding, and this race was surprisingly poor.”
Rosberg added, “He doesn`t even have the answers. Was there floor damage? These floors are incredibly sensitive, and a slight issue can cause significant time loss. Or what else was happening?”
“When you lack any explanations, it`s truly challenging as a driver, especially when you see your teammate racing his way to a third-place podium finish. Considering his entire season so far, it`s a very bleak situation.”
Although Hamilton suggested his race-day struggles in Spain were “probably just me,” Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur later revealed that “we had an issue on the car in the final stint, before the Safety Car.” Vasseur did not provide details about the problem with the SF-25 but mentioned they would investigate.
Hamilton had communicated his frustration to his engineer Riccardo Adami via team radio near the end of the race, saying, “There`s something wrong with this car, mate. It`s the worst it`s ever been.”
Rosberg`s Take on Hamilton`s Ferrari Beginning: `Something is Missing`
With Ferrari`s aspirations for contesting the world championships not materializing this season, continuing their 17-year title drought, Hamilton currently sits sixth in the Drivers` Championship after nine races. He is 23 points behind his teammate Leclerc, who is fifth and achieved his second consecutive podium in Spain.
The qualifying session last Saturday was only the second time in nine attempts that Hamilton has outqualified Leclerc for a Grand Prix, and he has beaten the Monegasque driver only once in a full race distance.
Rosberg, a former childhood karting friend and later a fierce title rival and teammate at Mercedes, commented, “It`s been a difficult start so far, a continuation of the form he showed last year, which was the first time in his career he experienced a drop in performance for an entire season.”
“George Russell outperformed him last year, and Leclerc has taken over from Russell, consistently being slightly ahead of Lewis, who hasn`t found his rhythm yet,” Rosberg noted.
“Something is missing. He hasn`t connected with the car yet and is still somewhat on the back foot, but the car itself is difficult to manage.”
“Lewis` strengths at this stage of his career are his race pace, which we saw in Imola when he started 12th and finished fourth with blistering speed. It was incredible to watch.”
“But, he`s nearing 40, and at some point, it comes down to the processing speed in our brains, the reaction time in qualifying.”
“Eventually, you will become ever so slightly slower, and it will happen to Lewis sooner rather than later.”
Marcus Prine