Nico Rosberg has already admitted he was wrong about Lewis Hamilton’s ‘level’ at Ferrari

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Nico Rosberg has immediately changed his mind about Lewis Hamilton’s title chances after the Ferrari driver won in Barcelona.

Hamilton closed the gap to championship leader Kimi Antonelli to 41 points after taking a famous win as the Mercedes driver retired.

Mercedes had won the opening six races and are still unbeaten in Grand Prix qualifying, but Ferrari’s mighty Barcelona upgrade appears to have changed the landscape at the front of the grid.

Your championship standings after the Barcelona GP. How worried should Kimi Antonelli be about Lewis Hamilton?

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Nico Rosberg ruled out Lewis Hamilton winning the title, then changed his mind

In an appearance on the High Performance Podcast, released at the beginning of June, Rosberg said Hamilton wasn’t at the ‘level’ to win the title this year.

“I think he’ll win a race at least this year,” he said. “But to get the championship, I think the car is not good enough and his level is not quite there yet.”

However, after watching his former teammate win last weekend, Rosberg was asked by the official F1 website whether Hamilton and Ferrari should be dreaming of more.

“They can, yeah,” he replied. “They should, and they can.”

Lewis Hamilton is now only missing a Grand Prix pole position for Ferrari 🏆 Predict when it will come?

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Clearly, Rosberg now sees the title as a legitimate objective for Hamilton, effectively admitting that he was wrong. Even if he may still view him as an outsider, this shows how a single victory can change perceptions.

After a dismal 2025, Hamilton looked more comfortable than at the outset this year without necessarily being the faster Ferrari. On pure pace, Leclerc was ahead in three of the first four Grands Prix.

However, something has changed for Hamilton in the last three events. He comprehensively beat his teammate in Canada, then outqualified him at Monaco, Leclerc’s home circuit and arguably his strongest track.

After back-to-back second-place finishes, Hamilton ascended to another level when he had a sniff of victory in Barcelona.

Rosberg said during the weekend that Hamilton’s recent brake change – specifically his switch from Brembo discs to Carbon Industrie – is behind his resurgence.

The German certainly wasn’t the only pundit who wrote off Hamilton’s title chances, but the narrative is starting to change.