Lewis Hamilton 's season hit a new low on Sunday at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in Imola, Italy.- Hamilton finished 13th, struggled to overtake Pierre Gasly, and was even lapped by rival Max Verstappen.
Lewis Hamilton's struggles during the 2022 season hit a new low this weekend, and nobody appeared to enjoy it more than his former teammate and rival,
During Saturday's sprint race at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in Italy, Hamilton finished a disappointing 14th. Things only got worse from there.
On Sunday, Hamilton finished 13th, just the second time in the last 168 races he failed to finish a race in the Top 10 and secure points. He also struggled to overtake AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly, which would have been unheard of in recent years, and was even lapped by his rival, Max Verstappen.
Verstappen cruised to the easy win, giving
But while it was a good weekend for Red Bull, Rosberg seemed to enjoy the schadenfreude even more.
During the race, Rosberg, the 2016 F1 champ and Hamilton's former teammate at Mercedes, was a guest commentator for Sky
"Hang on a second," Rosberg said. "Just when you thought for Lewis it can't get any worse than it is, you've got his archrival, Max Verstappen, coming from behind, is going to lap him. That is going to be painful, and I think for Max, he's going to have a little smile in his helmet when he goes by."
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Rosberg brought up Hamilton's struggles even when he wasn't asked about his former teammate.
Later in the race, Rosberg was brought in to comment on Leclerc's spin that ruined his shot at a podium finish. Rosberg interrupted himself to talk about Hamilton.
"I think [Ferrari] maybe should have tried one more lap to see if the wing will hold on ok, as we are seeing Lewis trying for the 20th time to get by Gasly unsuccessfully, which must be so painful for him," Rosberg said.
Rosberg's criticism continued after the race.
During a post-race interview, F1TV broadcast a radio conversation between Hamilton and team principal Toto Wolff, who apologized for the car.
"Sorry for what you have needed to drive today," Wolff said. "I know this is undrivable and not what we deserve [inaudible], and we move from there. This was a terrible race."
Rosberg was asked about the comment and was quick to say that he did not think the car was completely to blame.
"It's not quite the truth," Rosberg said. "Let's remember that [teammate George] Russell is in P4 with that same car. So Lewis definitely had a big role to play in that poor result this weekend.
Wolff called Hamilton and Rosberg's relationship "most difficult"
Hamilton and Rosberg were teammates with Mercedes from 2013 to 2016. While all teams have the difficult situation of managing teammates who are also rivals, that challenge is even greater when both are championship contenders.
As teammates, the duo finished 1-2 in the championship standings three times, with Hamilton winning titles in 2014 and 2015 and Rosberg taking home the crown in 2016, his final season in F1.
During a preseason interview with Insider, Wolff spoke about the delicate nature of the teammate-rival dynamic.
"I've learned on the job with the most difficult relationship, between Nico Rosberg and Lewis, and then an easier one between Valtteri [Bottas] and Lewis," Wolff told Insider. "But these are racing drivers that want to win, that have learned from a very early age of — whatever it is — five or six years that you are out there for yourself, you're alone in the go kart, it's raining, you're scared. How should you explain to such an individual that suddenly you need to be a player and give up your position for the other one to win? That doesn't work. So I'm very conscious about the conflict of interest between the two of them, between the team and the driver."
It seems like Rosberg still considers Hamilton more of a rival than a former teammate.