Nico Rosberg believes Charles Leclerc has a short window to assert dominance as Hamilton faces early struggles with Ferrari integration.
Nico Rosberg believes Charles Leclerc has a three-race window to exploit Lewis Hamilton’s weaknesses at Ferrari.
Hamilton has entered a new phase of his career with Ferrari, facing early difficulties in terms of integration and adapting to his car.
With the seven-time world champion now holding lower expectations and even calling recently to avoid focusing too much on 2025 in favor of 2026, Rosberg sees this as a chance for Leclerc to assert himself as the natural number one.
“Leclerc absolutely has to take advantage of Hamilton’s struggles.”
“That was one of Lewis’s weaknesses: when he becomes demoralized, you have to pounce, because you never know how long it will last.”
“We know he’ll come back strong, so you might get one race, maybe two, even three, and you have to maximize your points, because after that, it will be very difficult again.”
“So yes, it’s a bit of a weak point, but I would still say it’s a subtle difference from Lando [Norris], who tends to doubt himself more consistently.”
Rosberg then suggested that Hamilton appears to be accepting the “difficult” situation he finds himself in.
“What I’ve seen from Lewis is greater acceptance. Okay, yes, the situation is difficult.”
“Expectations have also come down and now need to be revised downward.”
“I think he’s in that phase now, but I know the man, it’s Lewis, and he’s already preparing everything needed for next year to be much more successful under the new regulations.”