Lewis Hamilton’s former teammate, Nico Rosberg, said the Ferrari star’s “level is not quite there yet” to win a Driver’s Championship.
The 41-year-old heads into Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix among the favourites to land his first victory for Ferrari, having claimed his best result with the Italian team a fortnight ago.
It marked Hamilton’s second podium from the opening five rounds, but Rosberg, Hamilton’s former teammate at Mercedes, doubts he will go on and win an eighth world championship.
When asked if he would like to see Hamilton win another one, 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.”
Hamilton struggled in his first year with Ferrari, with one stage describing himself as “useless”.
Rosberg continued: “Even though the best (in Formula One) are earning $50million (£37.1million) a year, the struggles are still real.
Nico Rosberg said Lewis Hamilton’s ‘level is not there yet’ to win another Driver’s Championship
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REUTERS/PA
“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 team-mate beating him… that is a horrible situation to be in.
“And that would not have been much fun, so you are on the edge.”
During their rivalry, Hamilton and Rosberg did not speak to one another despite being on the same team.
Lewis Hamilton finished second at the Canadian Grand Prix
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REUTERS
Commenting on the matter, Rosberg said: “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. 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.”
Nico Rosberg said he thinks Lewis Hamilton ‘will win a race at least this year’
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GETTY
Rosberg continued: “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.”
