EXCLUSIVE: Nico Rosberg hails ‘legendary moment of F1’ as Lewis Hamilton ‘climbs to greatness again’ with maiden Ferrari win
Nico Rosberg has described Lewis Hamilton’s breakthrough Ferrari triumph at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix as “a legendary moment” for the sport – suggesting that his former team mate has “climbed to greatness again”.
Hamilton made a blockbuster switch to Ferrari in 2025 after a long association with Mercedes, where he partnered Rosberg for several years, but the seven-time World Champion’s first season in red proved to be one of his most challenging.
Aside from a Sprint victory in China, Hamilton struggled to make an impression across the campaign, which passed without a Grand Prix podium finish, and included a run of self-critical comments after several Q1 exits and point-less races.
However, following a reset over the winter, Ferrari “moving mountains” to make him feel more comfortable, and the introduction of all-new regulations for 2026, Hamilton appears to have rediscovered the form that previously took him to so many titles.
Off the back of P2 finishes in Canada and Monaco, Hamilton once again impressed in Barcelona, where he stormed to the front row of the grid with a stunning final lap in Q3, and converted it into victory via an aggressive three-stop strategy against his two-stopping Mercedes rivals.
Speaking to F1.com in the paddock as the dust settled on the result, and after he interviewed Hamilton in Parc Ferme, Rosberg took a moment to reflect on what the world of F1 had witnessed – and what his ex-colleague had achieved.
“We’ve witnessed a legendary moment of F1,” said Rosberg. “It’s historic for him, and it’s a historic moment.
“I think the whole of the F1 world, everybody appreciates this moment. There’s nobody who does not appreciate this moment.
“Also, he went through such an extremely tough start to the time at Ferrari. It’s amazing how he’s really managed to turn it around and climb to his greatness once again, you know. It’s awesome to witness.
“We all kind of want this to continue now, because we want him to take on the fight to the Mercedes guys. That would be awesome. The car is fast, so let’s see if they can make it work.”
Hamilton sat 66 points behind championship leader Kimi Antonelli heading into the weekend, but his victory – combined with the Italian’s late retirement – means that deficit has been slashed to 41.
Asked if Hamilton and Ferrari can dream of more as the 2026 season continues, with the Briton looking for an eighth title, and the team aiming to end a championship drought stretching back to 2008, Rosberg was clear in his response.
“They can, yeah,” Rosberg said. “They should, and they can.”
Speaking separately on Sky Sports F1’s coverage, Rosberg argued that the result will only add fuel to the fire for Hamilton, with Ferrari’s significant Barcelona upgrade package also appearing to pay off.
“You get positive results, you get more motivated, you get happier, you work harder,” he commented.
“This is going to propel him even higher, together with his team. It’s an incredible momentum over there. All these ducks are falling into place at the moment, and that’s what it takes to win races in F1.
“They improved the car, they brought a lot of upgrades here this weekend – eight different parts of the car are new – and he is mentally in an awesome place.
“He’s beating his team mate [Charles Leclerc], the others are struggling a little bit with different things, so it’s all coming together, which is amazing.”
