Ex-Mercedes driver reveals area in which Lewis Hamilton is still ‘insanely strong’ in F1

Lewis Hamilton has been competing at the pinnacle of motor racing since the start of the 2007 season.

Ex-Mercedes driver reveals area in which Lewis Hamilton is still ‘insanely strong’ in F1

Lewis Hamilton (Via: Imago)

Lewis Hamilton did not have the best of outings in the 2024 F1 season. He was overshadowed by the performances of his teammate George Russell but despite this, the 2016 world champion Nico Rosberg feels Hamilton is still extremely strong in one area.

The 39-year-old had an incredibly strong race pace in the recent campaign. He lacked in qualifying but was on most occasions, able to make up for it by performing well during the full-fledged Grand Prix’s.

YouTube video

In light of this, Nico Rosberg made some strong remarks.

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The problem with our sport is that if you don’t qualify high up, you really struggle, even though he still seems to be at his very, very best in race pace – we’ve seen over and over again his racing pace is just still insanely strong.

Nico Rosberg via Motorsportweek

Hamilton had quite a few strong outings from starting from the back of the grid in 2024. Even in his last race (Abu Dhabi Grand Prix) with the Brackley-based Mercedes F1 team, he managed to come from up the south end of the grid to finish in fourth place. Moreover, he overtook Russell on the very last lap.

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The 2024 F1 season was really tough for ‘GOAT’ Lewis Hamilton

While Nico Rosberg has asserted that Lewis Hamilton (39) is still one of the best in terms of race pace, he feels the former had a horrendous time in 2024. Especially, because of his shortcomings against the much younger George Russell (27).

Toto Wolff and Lewis Hamilton (via Planetf1)
Toto Wolff and Lewis Hamilton (via Planetf1)

Remember, the team-mate is not a World Champion, the team-mate is just a four-time [three-time] race winner. And when you get beaten all the time, and in the case of Lewis, who’s statistically the GOAT [greatest of all time], then that’s really tough, especially going forward.

Nico Rosberg via the same interview

The F1 adventure for Hamilton will move to Ferrari from the 2025 season onwards. He has joined the Maranello-based outfit in hopes of amassing his record-breaking eight world championship.

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Lando Norris, Max Verstappen, Toto Wolff (via IMAGO)

However, the adjustment to a new environment could take a bit of time for him. Ferrari has its own way of doing things and it would be on Fred Vasseur (team principal) and Co. to make Hamilton comfortable as quickly as possible. The Italian outfit has one of the strongest pairings for next year with Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.