F1 News: Nico Rosberg Comments On Lewis Hamilton Contract - "Leads To Uncertainty"

"It puts stress because what if Lewis prefers to go surfing at the beach?"

Former Mercedes F1 driver Nico Rosberg, who spent four years with the team, has commented on the much-awaited contract extensions of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell. 

Ahead of last weekend's Italian GP at Monza, Mercedes finally announced contract extensions for George Russell and Lewis Hamilton for a span of two years until the end of 2025. Not only did that clarify Mercedes' intentions but it also brought an end to the speculations and rumours surrounding the contract. 

Rosberg feels that the extension is good not only for the team but also for team principal Toto Wolff. Talking on the Sky F1 podcast, he said that the contract extension has earned them two things:

“Stability, calmness.

"It leads to uncertainty, even if the leadership, if Lewis hasn’t signed yet. It puts stress because what if Lewis prefers to go surfing at the beach? 

"Big problem. It puts stress on someone like Toto, who won’t show it because he’s an incredibly good negotiator and incredibly cold. But it puts stress."

Rosberg also expressed that Mercedes should take inspiration from Red Bull's RB19 to up the performance of their W14, just like how others did. Citing McLaren's example and the success it saw after implementing the changes, he added:

“Analyse the Red Bull car.

"Christian Horner was telling me that he thinks next year will be closer because everyone will copy their car. That was his thought after Monza.

"All teams need to do that, understand what Red Bull is doing and go down that route, as much as possible.

"That’s what McLaren did, to some extent, and it worked wonders straight away. All teams will do that. Also, understand what McLaren did to make such a jump, they’ve done an exceptional job.” 

Currently, Mercedes sits below Red Bull in the constructors' championship but is far from going anywhere near the Milton Keynes outfit.