Nico Rosberg surprises Sky Sports panel with his thoughts on Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc
Lewis Hamilton’s former teammate and longtime rival at Mercedes, Nico Rosberg, left everyone on the Sky Sports panel speechless with his comment about Hamilton’s clash with Charles Leclerc at the Mexican Grand Prix.
Hamilton finished second behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in Mexico City, while Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli took third and sealed the championship with four races to go in 2026. Antonelli also made history as the youngest-ever F1 world champion at just 20 years and 68 days old.
Hamilton started on pole and battled with Ferrari’s Leclerc at Turn 4. Leclerc was judged to have passed Hamilton off track and got a five-second penalty, finishing fourth in the end. Over team radio, Hamilton was heard saying, “Got pushed out by my own teammate,” while Leclerc admitted after the race that he “deserved” the penalty.
Leclerc said it was a bit confusing because “we both didn’t make Turn 4,” but he stayed ahead, then Max passed Lewis. He asked, “What should I do?” and decided to keep his position and accept the penalty.
Hamilton later accused Leclerc of “working against” him, and Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur said both drivers showed a “lack of respect” for the team.
Rosberg, who was part of the Sky Sports broadcast team, surprised everyone with his take. When asked if Ferrari can find a way to manage the tension, he said, “Interestingly, it’s always Charles’ fault, isn’t it? It’s never Lewis’s fault. In recent times, in Monza it was Charles, here it was Charles…” The rest of the team seemed unsure about commenting on Hamilton.
At first, Rosberg said Leclerc had the right to try to pass Hamilton, but then he changed his mind. He said Leclerc was “a bit too aggressive” at turns 1 and 2 and felt that since Leclerc was ahead on the outside, he should have held that position. He added that Leclerc only got ahead because he braked too late.
In the end, Rosberg said Leclerc deserved a small penalty to lose some race time—probably five seconds. He thought ten seconds would be too much since Hamilton also went off track.
F1 is back next for the Brazilian Grand Prix on November 8.