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Nico Rosberg has backed Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes to contend for the title next season. The German unit has been going through a rough period ever since the new regulations took shape. The team has been unable to put together a competitive package and have found themselves far behind the top of the grid.
The team that consistently won more than 10 races every season since 2014 has now found it hard to win even a single race this season. Despite all of this, Nico Rosberg is confident that his former team and Lewis Hamilton could be contending for a world title next season.
Talking to Daily Mail, Rosberg talked about Mercedes's merits and speculated that there was a chance that the team contended for a title next year. He said:
"I believe in Mercedes ability because I was there. I know how strong they are. It's always still the same people. So certainly there is a chance that Hamilton could once again fight for the championship next year."
When questioned if he would be happy if Lewis Hamilton won the title, Rosberg said:
"I would be happy if Mercedes won, because that's kind of my racing family from the past. But then Lewis, I'm neutral there. I just would like a great fight for the championship, and may the best driver win. But I'm not biased in that sense, obviously."
Rosberg points to Lewis Hamilton's charge for victory in Austin
Rosberg pointed to Lewis Hamilton challenging for a win at the 2023 F1 US GP as a sign of the team's resurgence. The Mercedes was in contention for the win after a race-long battle with Max Verstappen and Lando Norris. In the end, Hamilton could only finish 2nd, but the team had claimed that the car was the fastest in the race.
Talking about these flashes of brilliance, Rosberg said:
"We've seen flashes of brilliance from the Mercedes team just recently. They lack consistency. But look at Austin. They were challenging for the win there and actually had the fastest car over the weekend."
He added:
"So we've seen that they're starting to understand the car, and they just have the problem that you still lack consistency. They still lack in straight line performance, but they are starting to understand all that."
It does look highly unlikely at this stage that Mercedes could close the gap to Red Bull next season.
