Nico Rosberg has warned Lewis Hamilton against an abrupt retirement at the end of the 2025 season, despite his miserable end to the campaign. The Brit was eliminated in Q1 for the third Grand Prix qualifying session in succession in Abu Dhabi, compounding his misery in the season finale.
For the first time in his glittering F1 career, Hamilton went without a podium, and there were few positives for the seven-time world champion to take from the season-ending triple-header in Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
For weeks now, Hamilton has been counting down the days until the end of the 2025 season, and the 40-year-old confessed his delight when asked about the end of the ground-effect era of F1 cars. In 2026, the sport will undergo a major overhaul in the technical department, and Ferrari hope that this can be the catalyst for their return to the top.
Offering his former Mercedes team-mate some advice, Rosberg said: “ He’s just really stuck because retiring now, you can’t retire now. Who are you going to replace him with? Taking on a big project and then 12 months in, just because it is difficult, you just retire. That doesn’t work.”
On Saturday at the Yas Marina Circuit, Rosberg pointed the finger at the Brit when asked about his 16th-place qualifying result, explaining that Hamilton must take responsibility for his difficult end to the season. His woes have been exacerbated by the form of his team-mate, Charles Leclerc, who has impressed with strong results despite driving unpredictable machinery.
“Well, I mean, Charles is fifth,” Rosberg said after qualifying. “Let’s not forget, yeah? So, Lewis is definitely responsible at least partially, but if not entirely, for being 16th on the grid. So it’s just unbelievably hard. And it’s so tough. It’s so tough.
“I can really, I feel for him, because it’s horrible. It’s horrible. You start to doubt yourself, you know, maybe I’ve lost it, he thinks to himself, you know, maybe I’ve lost it. And maybe it’s just gonna continue like that the whole next year, and more pain, and it’s really a horrible situation to be in, so not nice to see.”
While Ferrari have been impressed by the performances of Haas’ Oliver Bearman, who retains his links to the Scuderia, they are not willing to give up on the Hamilton project just yet. The legendary Brit is committed to his contract and believes he can return to contention in 2026, following what he describes as the toughest season of his career.