Nico Rosberg admitted he found it difficult to witness Lewis Hamilton`s dejected state following his former teammate`s underwhelming performance at the Spanish Grand Prix.
After the race, Hamilton himself confessed he was unsure “what to say,” reflecting on what he described as a “terrible” afternoon at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, which saw him finish the race in sixth place.
Despite aiming for his first podium finish, Hamilton started from a season-best joint fifth on the grid. He initially gained a position by overtaking his Mercedes teammate George Russell but soon struggled significantly with a lack of grip from his car. During the race, he was undercut by Russell in the pit stop phase and later overtaken by Nico Hulkenberg from Sauber following a late Safety Car period that closed the field.
Commenting on Hamilton`s post-race interview, pundit Rosberg stated:
“It`s hard to watch… Sunday was a horrible day for him because he was just slow out there, which is very unusual. Yes, sometimes he`s been a little bit off in qualifying but in races he`s usually really awesome and the race was shockingly bad.”
Rosberg added that Hamilton seemed to lack answers for his performance issues.
“He doesn`t have answers either. Was there damage on the floor? These floors are so sensitive and there can always be a bit there and you lose a lot of time. Or what was going on? When you don`t have any answers, it`s really tough as a driver and then you see your teammate [George Russell] race their way to third place on the podium. In light of the whole season he`s had so far, it`s a very dark situation.”
While Hamilton attributed his race difficulties potentially to himself (“probably just me”), Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur later mentioned that “we had an issue on the car the last stint, before the Safety Car” regarding one of the Ferrari SF-25s, without specifying the problem, adding that they would investigate.
Towards the end of the race, Hamilton had communicated his frustration over team radio to his engineer, Riccardo Adami, saying: “There`s something wrong with this car, mate. It`s the worst it`s ever been.”
Rosberg`s Assessment of Hamilton`s Season So Far
With Ferrari`s championship aspirations appearing to fade this season, Hamilton currently sits sixth in the Drivers` Championship after nine races. He is 23 points behind Charles Leclerc, who is fifth and secured his second consecutive podium in Spain.
This season marks only the second time in nine qualifying sessions that Hamilton has started ahead of Leclerc, and he has only finished ahead of him in one full race so far.
Rosberg, who was Hamilton`s childhood karting friend, Mercedes teammate, and ultimately a fierce title rival, offered his broader assessment:
“It`s been a difficult start so far, a continuation of the form he had last year which was the first time in his career he had a dip in form for the whole season. George Russell beat him last year and Leclerc has taken over from Russell, always a bit ahead of Lewis, who hasn`t found his way yet.”
He continued, suggesting something is “missing” and that Hamilton hasn`t yet fully connected with his current car, describing it as a “handful.”
Rosberg did acknowledge Hamilton`s enduring strength in race pace, citing his impressive climb from 12th to fourth at Imola. However, he also speculated on the impact of age:
“Lewis` strengths in this stage of his career is his race pace, which we saw in Imola when he started 12th and finished fourth with blistering pace. It was amazing to watch. But, he`s 40 and at some point, it`s all about the speed of processing in our brains, the reaction time in qualifying. At some point you will get ever so slightly slower and it will happen to Lewis sooner rather than later.”
