Nico Rosberg casts damning verdict about Lewis Hamilton’s F1 title chances

Nico Rosberg believes Lewis Hamilton is not at the level required to win a record-breaking eighth Formula 1 world championship with Ferrari.

Seven-time world champion Hamilton scored his best grand prix result for Ferrari with a brilliant drive to second place on what marked a breakthrough weekend in Canada last time out.

The 41-year-old Briton endured a difficult and disappointing first season with Ferrari after completing a blockbuster switch from rivals Mercedes at the end of 2024 but has enjoyed a much better start to his sophomore campaign in red.

However, Hamilton’s former Mercedes team-mate and title rival Rosberg has all but dismissed his chances of winning a title with Ferrari, based on both his and the team’s current level of performance.

Asked if he would like to see Hamilton win the title with Ferrari, Rosberg told the High Performance podcast: ”Yes, of course, and he would deserve it. It would be great to see him keep progressing as he has into this year. And I think he will win a race at least this year.

"But to get the championship, the car is not good enough, and his level is not quite there yet, but hopefully he can still improve throughout the season.”

Rosberg continued: "Even though the best [in Formula One] are earning $50 million a year, the struggles are still real. Lewis Hamilton, earning tons of money at Ferrari, if you ask him about last year and how horrible was it on a scale of one to 10, he would give you a 10.

"Coming to a new team, the whole of Italy slowly but surely turning against him because he is not delivering, his younger teammate beating him...that is a horrible situation to be in and that would not have been much fun so you are on the edge.”

Rosberg and Hamilton did not speak during the height of their rivalry at Mercedes as they battled it out for world championships between 2014 and 2016.

The 2016 season in particular remains one of the most fiercely contested intra-team rivalries in the history of F1, with the pair famously coming to blows on the first lap of the Spanish Grand Prix.

"We are neutral now. Bad things happened and you can't fix that so easily either. Who is going to say sorry first? I don't know,” Rosberg said of his relationship with Hamilton.

"But I am amazed he is still driving. I have been retired for 10 years, and it is not like we were young at the time, and he is still going. He is a genius.

"It's incredible how he has managed to build his life with such stability to be able to have such longevity, no scandals, and performing at a high level for such a long time.

"And now he is taking on another huge challenge at Ferrari, and a huge struggle. It is getting better because with these new regulations he is performing much better than he was last year.

"But he is up against Charles Leclerc who is at the peak of his ability, and he is one of the greatest drivers of this generation so it is going to be difficult."