Nico Rosberg has warned former F1 teammate Lewis Hamilton that he will face a huge challenge going up against Charles Leclerc at Ferrari.
Hamilton will become teammates with Leclerc as he embarks on a new chapter of his storied and illustrious F1 career at Ferrari, having completed a blockbuster switch from Mercedes.
The seven-time world champion will go head-to-head with one of F1’s most exciting and fastest drivers in Leclerc, who is viewed by many as being the quickest over a single lap.
Despite being the all-time record holder for F1 pole positions with 104, Hamilton has struggled in qualifying in recent seasons and suffered a comprehensive 19-5 defeat to former Mercedes teammate George Russell in the head-to-heads last term.
And Rosberg, who pipped Hamilton to the world title in 2016 before retiring from F1, believes his former teammate will need to up his game if he is to hold the edge over Leclerc.
Asked who he thinks will come out on top between Leclerc and Hamilton, Rosberg told Sky F1: “If you take [Abu Dhabi], then definitely Charles.
“Because Charles will be on a similar level to George Russell, which is kind of the best of the next generation level, except for Verstappen, [who] was a little higher again, and Lewis is just struggling at the moment, and we don’t really know why.
“So if it’s as of today, then Charles will beat him in the same way as George Russell is beating him – but Lewis is the greatest of all time.
We still give him the benefit of the doubt that he can be back to his usual best, and then he should be slightly ahead of Charles at the end of the year.”