Nico Rosberg Says Lewis Hamilton Not at the Level Needed to Win an 8th F1 Title

Nico Rosberg said that Lewis Hamilton is not currently performing at the level required to win a record eighth F1 championship.

Rosberg made the assessment on the High Performance podcast, where he was asked directly whether he would like to see his former Mercedes teammate claim an unprecedented eighth drivers’ title with Ferrari.

Hamilton, 41, heads into the Monaco Grand Prix as a genuine favorite for his first Ferrari victory, coming off a runner-up finish behind Kimi Antonelli at the Canadian Grand Prix. That was his second podium finish this season. Rosberg is not ignoring Hamilton’s recent success, but he’s not getting carried away with it, either.

Rosberg’s Verdict on Hamilton

When asked on the podcast if Hamilton deserved an eighth title, Rosberg did not deflect. “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.”

Rosberg also didn’t shy away from how brutal Hamilton’s first Ferrari season actually was. “Even though the best in Formula One are earning $50 million a year, the struggles are still real. Lewis Hamilton, earning tons of money at Ferrari, if you ask him about last year and how horrible it was 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 teammate beating him. That is a horrible situation.”

Hamilton himself did not spare the self-criticism during that first season, at one point describing his own performances as “useless” and reportedly suggesting Ferrari consider replacing him. That was a blunt self-assessment from a seven-time world champion.

What the Evidence Actually Shows

Hamilton is currently fourth in the drivers’ standings, just three points behind teammate Charles Leclerc. Two podiums in five races is a definite improvement over last season, when he did not finish inside the top three once.

But Rosberg’s point about peak level is worth taking seriously. The gap between being a podium contender and a title contender in modern F1 is significant. Rosberg, who beat Hamilton over an entire season in 2016, is one of the few people positioned to assess that distinction firsthand.

The debate around legacy, longevity, and whether legends can sustain championship-level performance late in their careers is never clean, but Rosberg is not speculating from the outside. He has lived it against the same man.

The Stakes Heading Into Monaco

Monaco is the kind of circuit where driver skill carries extra weight, and Hamilton is among the favorites this weekend.

Rosberg’s comments also carry a particular edge because of their source. He is the only teammate who beat Hamilton to a world championship – across an entire head-to-head season – and that history gives his criticism a different quality than most outside observers can offer.

At the same time, it is fair to note that their rivalry has always had a competitive undercurrent, and Rosberg has previously acknowledged that with a strong enough package, Hamilton could still add to his title tally.

Rosberg’s assessment is pointed and credible, but it is not the final word. Hamilton, at 41, is building momentum with a team he is still learning about, and heading into a circuit that could hand him his first Ferrari win this weekend.