F1 News
Rosberg warns Hamilton about Ferrari move: 'Might be a painful adventure'
Nico Rosberg has warned Lewis Hamilton about his massive move from Mercedes to Ferrari for the 2025 season, saying it could be "quite a painful adventure". The seven-time world champion shocked the paddock with the news he will be leaving the German team for the Scuderia next season, with the Brit hoping the move will bring him his record-breaking eighth drivers' championship.
Hamilton first joined Mercedes in 2013 after six seasons and McLaren, giving him his first world title in 2008. fast Forward to the end of the 2024 season, after 12 seasons together, the Brit and the German team became the most successful driver and team pairing in F1, winning six drivers' titles and eight constructors' titles together.
However, since missing out on the title in 2021 at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the 39-year-old and Mercedes have never been able to fight right at the front of the grid again as they struggled to get to grips with the new regulations. In 2024, it was the first time in his career that Hamilton missed out on the top six of the drivers' standings, highlighting his struggles throughout the season. He will hope to change his fortunes around when he moves to the Prancing Horse in 2025.
Rosberg believes Hamilton will be "very, very worried" at Ferrari
Rosberg, who won the 2016 world championship with Mercedes while alongside Hamilton at the German team, was asked about the Brit's move to Ferrari for next season: "Where is he at, at the moment? He is at a place where he is saying to himself, 'I am not fast anymore.' That is where he is at, and that is really singled out to qualifying. The problem with our sport is that if you do not qualify high up, you really struggle," the German began, speaking on the Sky Sports F1 Podcast.
"Even though he still seems to be at his very best with his race pace, we've seen over and over again that his race pace is insanely strong. But when you qualify poorly all the time, and he says that he is not quick enough in qualifying, that is something that is weighing on his shoulders so much at the end of the year."
It's true that Hamilton's qualifying was a real problem for him in 2024, out-qualified by teammate Georg Russell 19 times out of 24 throughout the season, while also only qualifying ahead of his British teammate once in the six sprint races. As a result, Rosberg believes Hamilton will be worried if that form continues next year: "When you get beaten all the time by your teammate, especially when you're statistically the G.O.A.T. [Greatest Of All Time, ed.], then that's really tough, especially when you're going forward and having two years at Ferrari.
"He will 100% be very, very worried, 'What if this form of mine continues?' Was it just the car at Mercedes, or was it something else? What if this form continues at Ferrari? If it does, it would really be quite a painful adventure, I would say. That is not what Ferrari hired him for. Ferrari hired him to be on a level with Leclerc and fight for world championships. I think he will be very worried about that, and we can only hope that he gets back to his good old self with a reset at Ferrari and is once again the brilliant driver we know," Rosberg concluded.
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