“He was just slow”: Nico Rosberg's honest verdict on Lewis Hamilton's below-par F1 Spanish GP with Ferrari

Nico Rosberg believes Lewis Hamilton’s performance at the 2025 Spanish Grand Prix was difficult to watch. Speaking on Sky Sports F1, the 2016 World Champion felt that Hamilton’s lack of answers for his drop in form painted a grim picture.

Hamilton had out-qualified his teammate Charles Leclerc with the fifth-fastest lap in qualifying. However, his race began to unravel as early as Lap 10, when he complained of a lack of rear grip and was forced to let Leclerc through. During the final pit stop under the safety car, both drivers were on similarly worn tyres, but Hamilton was overtaken by Nico Hülkenberg, who was on a fresh set of softs.

The Briton eventually finished sixth, while Leclerc secured a podium in third. After the race, Hamilton appeared dejected in media interviews and was unable to explain the lack of pace.

Rosberg acknowledged Lewis Hamilton’s talent but admitted the race in Barcelona was painful to watch. He suggested that the absence of answers for the performance issues casts a worrying shadow over the remainder of the season. The former Mercedes driver speculated that floor damage might have contributed to the unexpected drop in pace and summed up Hamilton’s 2025 campaign so far as a difficult one. Rosberg expressed sympathy for his former teammate, who had to watch Leclerc claim a podium while continuing to struggle for form.

Speaking about Lewis Hamilton after the race on Sky Sports F1, Rosberg said:

“It's hard to watch. Today was a horrible day for him because he was just slow out there, which is very unusual because, yes, sometimes he's been a little bit off in qualifying, but in racing, usually he's still really, really awesome. Today, the race was just shockingly bad, and then he doesn't have answers either.”

“Was there damage to the floor, as these floors are so sensitive, and there can always be a little bit there, and then you lose a lot of time? Or what was going on? When you don't have any answers, it's really tough as a driver, and then you see your teammate racing up all the way to third place, being on the podium. In light of the whole season that he's had so far, it's a very dark situation,” he added.

On the other hand, Ferrari expressed their desire to investigate Lewis Hamilton's performance issues following the conclusion of the Spanish GP.

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Ferrari plans to investigate Lewis Hamilton's performance issues in the Spanish GP

Ferrari team principal Frédéric Vasseur has indicated that an investigation will be conducted into Lewis Hamilton’s sudden drop in performance during the Spanish Grand Prix. He noted that the overall pace was decent until the final stint, but was surprised by the significant drop-off in the final stint of the race.

Vasseur acknowledged the need to understand what went wrong. Despite the issue, he expressed satisfaction with Ferrari reclaiming second place in the Constructors’ Championship, having overtaken both Mercedes and Red Bull.

Speaking on Sky Sports Germany after the race, Vasseur said:

“I'm happy with it, but it was a little chaotic. We have some question marks over the tyres because they were better at the end than at the beginning. But we've had three good races now with Imola, Monaco, and Barcelona. That means we're back in the fight for second place in the constructors' championship."

"The [Hamilton’s] pace was okay, except for the last stint. I don't know if there was a problem there; we'll have to look into that. He had a significant drop in performance in the final part of the race,” he added.

Lewis Hamilton is currently sixth in the driver’s championship with a total of 71 points, whereas his teammate, Charles Leclerc, is in fifth place with 94 points. In the constructors’ championship, Ferrari stands in second place with a total of 165 points, while Mercedes is third with 159 points and Red Bull is fourth with 144 points.

While their gap to Mercedes and Red Bull is six points and 21 points, respectively, their gap to McLaren is 197 points. The Woking-based team leads the constructors’ championship with a total of 362 points.