Nico Rosberg found it challenging to witness his former teammate, Lewis Hamilton, appearing so dispirited following a disappointing Spanish Grand Prix.
After finishing sixth at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya last Sunday, Hamilton described the afternoon as “terrible” and admitted in his interview that he was left “speechless.”
Having aimed for his first Ferrari podium after achieving a season-best qualifying position of fifth, Hamilton initially overtook former Mercedes teammate George Russell at the start. However, he soon struggled significantly with a lack of grip from his car.
During the race, Ferrari requested that he allow teammate Charles Leclerc to pass during the first pit stop phase. Hamilton was later undercut by Russell during the second stops and subsequently overtaken by Sauber`s Nico Hulkenberg after a late Safety Car compressed the field.
Reflecting on Hamilton`s post-race comments, F1 pundit Rosberg remarked, “It`s difficult to watch.”
Rosberg added, “Sunday was a dreadful day for him because he was simply slow on track, which is highly unusual.”
“While he sometimes isn`t at his peak in qualifying, his race performance is typically superb, but this race was unexpectedly poor.”
“He himself lacks answers. Was there damage to the floor? These floors are extremely sensitive, and even minor damage can lead to significant time loss. It`s unclear what the issue was.”
“When you don`t have any explanations, it`s incredibly tough for a driver, especially when you see your teammate secure a podium finish. Considering his season as a whole so far, it`s a rather bleak situation.”
Although Hamilton speculated that his race-day struggles in Spain were “probably just me,” Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur later disclosed that “we had an issue on the car in the last stint, before the Safety Car.” Vasseur did not elaborate on the specific problem with the SF-25, stating only that “we`ll look into it.”
Towards the end of the race, Hamilton had communicated to his engineer, Riccardo Adami, over the team radio: “There`s something wrong with this car, mate. It`s the worst it`s ever been.”
Rosberg`s Assessment: “Something Is Missing” in Hamilton`s Start at Ferrari
With Ferrari`s ambitions of contending for both world championships not materializing this season, extending 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 secured his second consecutive podium in Spain.
Spain marked only the second occasion in nine attempts that Hamilton managed to outqualify Leclerc for a Grand Prix. Furthermore, he has only finished ahead of the Monegasque driver once in a full race distance.
Rosberg, who was both a childhood friend from their karting days and later a teammate at Mercedes, eventually becoming a fierce title rival, commented, “It`s been a challenging start so far, continuing the trend from last year, which was the first time in his career he experienced a dip in form throughout an entire season.”
“George Russell outperformed him last year, and now Leclerc is consistently slightly ahead of Lewis, who hasn`t quite found his footing yet.”
“Something isn`t right. He hasn`t established a connection with the car yet and is somewhat on the back foot, although the car itself is difficult to manage.”
“Lewis`s strength at this stage of his career lies in his race pace, which we saw at Imola where he started 12th and finished fourth with incredible speed. That was impressive to witness.”
“However, he is nearing 40, and at some point, factors like the speed of processing in our brains and reaction times in qualifying become relevant.”
“There will inevitably be a point where you become just slightly slower, and for Lewis, that will happen sooner rather than later.”
Gilbert Pendleton