"Lewis is the best of all time" - Hamilton's former F1 rival predicts Mercedes driver to bounce back

Nico Rosberg has backed his former Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton to bounce back from his current slump.

After finishing just ahead of teammate George Russell in Bahrain, Hamilton finished one spot and a little over five seconds behind the young Brit in Saudi Arabia.

After the race in Jeddah, Hamilton cut a dejected figure and said that he'd have registered a better result if his car was set up similarly to Russell's.

“I think if I had the set-up George had, I would have been in a better position,” he opined.

Speaking about Hamilton's post-race conduct, Rosberg said (via planetf1):

“That was just the ‘I got beat by my teammate’ face. That’s pretty simple.”

The former F1 champion has said that Russell is a future world champion, so finishing behind him isn't a slight on Hamilton. Rosberg also called the seven-time F1 champion 'the best of all time':

“George is a future world champion. This is a difficult one for Lewis to stay in front. We saw it last year, what an awesome season George did, and George is continuing on that form once again. It’s going to be a big, big challenge, but let’s not forget Lewis is the best of all time, so if there’s going to be someone who can beat George, then it will be Lewis.”

The German added:

“No, absolutely (one can never discount Hamilton). It’s a little bit of a weakness that Lewis has that sometimes he’ll mentally go into this down a little bit and lose a little bit of flow. But he comes back with a bang every single time, so dear George, don’t get too comfortable.”

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Lewis Hamilton says Mercedes are not as dominant as Red Bull

Lewis Hamilton has said that Mercedes' W14 is nowhere near Red Bull Racing's RB19 in terms of pace. When asked about the RB19's pace, Lewis Hamilton said that it's the fastest car on the grid:

"I don't know, it's not for me to say, but I've never seen a car so fast. When we were fast, we weren't that fast. That's the fastest car I've seen compared to the rest, I don't know why or how but he (Max Verstappen) came past me with serious speed. I didn't even bother to block because there was a massive speed difference. I think everyone wants to see everyone close, but it's the way it is. Not my problem or fault."

Red Bull have had 1-2 finishes in both races of the 2023 season.