Nico Rosberg has challenged Lewis Hamilton’s account of his long-standing interest in joining Ferrari, arguing that his former Mercedes team-mate had no desire to leave while the German manufacturer was dominating Formula 1.
Hamilton revealed during the Italian Grand Prix weekend that conversations over a potential Ferrari move had taken place long before he finally joined the Scuderia in 2025. However, Rosberg has rejected the idea that a switch was seriously attractive to Hamilton during the years in which the pair shared the Mercedes garage.
Nico Rosberg questions Lewis Hamilton’s earlier Ferrari interest
Hamilton explained that he had spoken with former Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali on a couple of occasions during the early 2010s. He also suggested that Fernando Alonso’s powerful status within the Maranello team may have prevented a reunion between the two drivers after their difficult season together at McLaren in 2007.
The seven-time world champion additionally claimed that he considered a Ferrari move in 2017, before Sebastian Vettel extended his contract with the Italian team. By that stage, Vettel had emerged as Hamilton’s principal championship rival as Ferrari attempted to disrupt Mercedes’ dominance.
Rosberg, however, remembers Hamilton’s attitude during their years together very differently. Speaking to Sky Sports Germany, with his comments reported by F1 Insider, the 2016 world champion maintained that Hamilton had effectively no interest in going elsewhere while Mercedes possessed the strongest car.
In Rosberg’s view, there was simply no compelling reason for Hamilton to contemplate leaving a team that was controlling Formula 1 at the beginning of the turbo-hybrid era. He therefore dismissed the suggestion of meaningful Ferrari interest during that period as an embellished version of events.
Mercedes dominance gave Hamilton little reason to leave, Rosberg argues
Hamilton won consecutive world championships in 2014 and 2015 as Mercedes established itself as Formula 1’s dominant force. Rosberg then beat him to the 2016 crown before retiring immediately afterwards, while Hamilton responded by beginning another run of four successive drivers’ titles from 2017.
Ferrari and Vettel provided a much stronger challenge during the early part of that period, particularly in 2017, but Hamilton ultimately prevailed. Rosberg believes the competitive strength of Mercedes during the years they were team-mates made the prospect of Hamilton voluntarily giving up the most coveted seat on the grid difficult to reconcile with what he witnessed at the time.
The German even acknowledged that Hamilton leaving would have benefited his own championship ambitions. Rosberg explained that a departure by his team-mate would have cleared his path and made his own task considerably easier.
Their intensely competitive Mercedes partnership remains one of the defining rivalries of Hamilton’s career. Rosberg has also remained outspoken about his former team-mate since retiring, including after the 2026 Italian Grand Prix when he placed responsibility on Charles Leclerc for the opening-lap Ferrari incident with Hamilton.
Hamilton eventually chose Ferrari after Mercedes dominance had faded
Hamilton ultimately made the move to Maranello at the age of 40, having repeatedly explained that he did not want to finish his career wondering what might have happened had he never driven for Ferrari. His arrival in 2025 ended a 12-year spell with Mercedes and fulfilled an ambition he described as significant to his career.
By the time that decision was made, however, the competitive landscape was very different from the era Rosberg was discussing. Mercedes’ prolonged dominance had already disappeared, and Hamilton committed to Ferrari during the winter of 2024 after his team had finished the previous championship more than 450 points behind Red Bull.
Across his Mercedes career, Hamilton extended his contract with the Brackley-based team five times, underlining the strength and longevity of a partnership that delivered six of his seven world championships. More coverage of his subsequent move and Ferrari career can be found in the dedicated Lewis Hamilton Ferrari news section.
Ferrari was also apparently not the only alternative considered during the latter stages of Hamilton’s Mercedes career. Christian Horner has previously claimed that Hamilton’s father contacted him in 2023 to ask whether a seat at Red Bull might be available.
Rosberg’s interpretation therefore centres on timing. He does not dispute that Hamilton eventually wanted the Ferrari experience, but he rejects the idea that his former team-mate was genuinely motivated to leave Mercedes while it was the dominant force in Formula 1. Hamilton’s own account, by contrast, presents Ferrari as a possibility that surfaced at different points long before the eventual 2025 move.
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