Former Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg has commented on the current weakness of the Silver Arrows and Lewis Hamilton in particular and revealed why the seven-time world champion “passionately hates” the current situation.
58 points behind the world championship leader Charles Leclerc is one thing, but according to Nico Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton doesn’t like the fact that his new teammate George Russell has already dropped to 21 points.
“It’s definitely a very tough situation for Lewis,” said Rosberg, who became Formula 1 World Champion in the Mercedes car in 2016 and was able to leave Hamilton behind, compared to “Sky Sports”. “He has won at least one race in every season of his career,” explained the German, adding: “And this year this series could possibly end for the first time.”
He recognized a higher level of tension than usual in his former team member, Rosberg said. The 36-year-old suspected that Hamilton would show more and more emotions and make his dissatisfaction clearer. “Nevertheless, given his overall experience, he will be able to keep his emotions under control,” Rosberg continued.
The fact that this shouldn’t be easy for Hamilton in the end is obvious to the 2016 World Cup winner: “One mustn’t forget that Lewis hates being behind his team-mate.”
Rosberg: It will be exciting to see how this develops at Mercedes
When Rosberg and Hamilton were still fighting for the title together in the Silver Arrow, the German felt the doggedness of the Brit again and again. The two even clashed on the track a few times.
“Even if you only finish in 11th or 13th place, he passionately hates being behind his comrade,” Rosberg recalled. “That really pisses him off.”
Therefore, the result of the Imola Grand Prix, in which Russell finished fourth while Hamilton finished P13, could still lead to friction within the team, Rosberg suspected.
“Imola will increase the tension a lot, especially in the technical field where Lewis will push harder and harder to succeed,” said the 36-year-old, adding: “It will be exciting to see how this develops.”