Nico Rosberg ‘Understands’ Ferrari’s Appeal That Lured Lewis Hamilton

Nico Rosberg ‘Understands’ Ferrari’s Appeal That Lured Lewis Hamilton

Nico Rosberg recently discussed his former Mercedes teammate, Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari. The 2016 world champion also revealed that he too wanted to drive for the Scuderia and can understand the appeal of driving for F1’s most iconic team.

In a conversation with Business of Sport, Rosberg was asked whether there was a team he wanted to drive during his stint in the sport. He explained that from his perspective, not joining Ferrari would count as a regret. The German highlighted his affinity for the Italian language and the community being a big factor in his love for the team.

Speaking of Hamilton’s decision to leave Mercedes for the Scuderia, he said, “Which is how I also understand Lewis’ move. He’s done Mercedes, he’s done all the successes there and to finish your career at Ferrari obviously [is] appealing.”

Both Rosberg and Hamilton climbed up the ranks of the junior formulas together. And on their way up, Ferrari was the team to be at. From 2000 to 2004, Michael Schumacher and Jean Todt led the team’s revolution — winning five consecutive titles. However, post that, Ferrari steadily declined in performance in the 2010s, paving the way for Red Bull and later Mercedes to dominate.

Hamilton and Rosberg were teammates at the Silver Arrows for four years and since 2014, they won eight consecutive constructors’ titles with Hamilton securing six drivers’ titles. But after the team dropped the ball in the new ground-effect era of the sport in 2022, the Briton decided to end his time with the Brackley-based squad.

Racing for Ferrari was Hamilton’s childhood dream

Earlier this year, Ferrari announced that Hamilton had penned a multi-year deal to drive for the team from 2025 onwards. This came as a shock for many in the paddock including Rosberg and Mercedes team principal, Toto Wolff.

Speaking about his decision to leave Mercedes after 13 years, Hamilton said, “I feel incredibly fortunate, after achieving things with Mercedes that I could only have dreamed of as a kid, that I now have the chance to fulfill another childhood dream. Driving in Ferrari red.” 

That said, even though his move to Maranello is one of the most anticipated aspects of 2025, his swan song at Mercedes would be an emotional one. With only six races to go in his Mercedes career, the #44 driver can look back at the 2024 season with fond memories.

This year, not only did he break his two-and-a-half-year winless streak — which dated all the way back to the 2021 Saudi Arabian GP. It was also his final British GP win as a Mercedes driver, having previously won his home Grand Prix seven times with the team.

Post Edited By: Aishwary Gaonkar
ferrari Lewis Hamilton Mercedes Nico Rosberg

About the author

Anirban Aly Mandal

Anirban Aly Mandal is an F1 writer at The SportsRush, with over 1000 articles under his belt, Anirban's love for F1 started when he discovered a copy of F1 2014 on his computer. With over half a decade's worth of time spent religiously following the sport, he’s dived deep into the world of motorsports. However, Anirban's expertise goes beyond just writing - he has also written several academic papers focused on the domain of motorsports and the law. His passion for the sport is so immense that he aspires to work as a legal advisor in the most prestigious racing series in the world someday. When it comes to Formula 1, Anirban finds great pleasure in re-watching classic races and idolizes the likes of Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell, and Sebastian Vettel. His top picks include Brazil '91, Silverstone '92, and Germany '19. Outside of the sport, Anirban is an avid sim racer, often found racing on titles like Assetto Corsa, F1 22, and Automobilista. Apart from his interests in gaming, Anirban has a keen interest in philosophy, literature and music.

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