Nico Rosberg hints Lewis Hamilton might be making ‘excuses’ after what he heard at the Belgian Grand Prix

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Few know Lewis Hamilton better than Nico Rosberg does, and the German may not totally buy what the Ferrari ace has claimed at Formula 1’s 2025 Belgian Grand Prix.

Hamilton and Rosberg were close friends during their childhoods after becoming teammates in go-karts while they climbed the ladder toward F1. Yet their friendship soured drastically in Formula 1 after Hamilton joined Rosberg at Mercedes before they became the team to beat.

Losing out to Hamilton for the F1 drivers’ championship in 2014 and 2015 left Rosberg to go all-out in 2016. The extremes he went to were even enough to see Rosberg retire days after winning his only title in 2016, leaving Hamilton to enjoy glory in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020.

A few barren years ultimately tempted the Briton to ditch the Silver Arrows for Ferrari in the 2025 F1 season. But his move to Maranello has not made for fonder memories, with the 40-year-old still yet to seal a single Grand Prix podium after the first 12 rounds for the first time.

Nico Rosberg hints Lewis Hamilton may be making excuses about his Sprint Qualifying spin at Spa

Hamilton’s 103 points before Sunday’s Belgian GP in round 13 of the 2025 season also mark his lowest return at this stage of a term since F1 introduced its current point-scoring system in 2010. He also failed to get a point in the F1 Sprint at Spa on Saturday after qualifying P18.

READ MORE: Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton’s life outside F1 from net worth to family

A spin on his last lap in SQ1 saw Hamilton qualify P18 for the Sprint at the Belgian GP, having lost the rear-end of his car under braking at the Bus Stop Chicane this Friday. It was not the result the Scuderia likely expected, after Ferrari debuted a rear suspension upgrade at Spa.

Ferrari investigated the cause of Hamilton’s spin after failing to spot an obvious reason for it after Sprint Qualifying. And Hamilton later claimed that the Briton’s costly spin was due to a different new part Ferrari fitted on his SF-25, but Rosberg has hinted that may be an excuse.

The only indication that the seven-time F1 champion offered for what the new part could be is that his teammate, Charles Leclerc, used it in practice for the Canadian Grand Prix. Leclerc crashed in FP1 for the Canadian GP after locking his front-right tyre under braking for Turn 3.

Rosberg said on Sky Sports F1 (26/07, 14:11): “It will remain a mystery for us. But it can also be [that] sometimes, as a driver, you like to throw in a couple of excuses. So, it could also be a little bit of an excuse. You know, ‘Charles had the problem and now I’ve had the problem’.”

What has Lewis Hamilton said after his spin in Sprint Qualifying at the 2025 Belgian GP?

Rosberg voiced his suspicions after Hamilton revealed that a new part that Ferrari put on his SF-25 at Spa for the ‘first time’ was what the Scuderia now understand was the cause of his spin in Sprint Qualifying. Hamilton and Ferrari have not yet announced what the new part is.

“We’ve got a new component on the car that Charles had in Montreal, and has had for a few races,” Hamilton explained after the F1 Sprint at Spa, via quotes by The Race. “But that’s the first time I’ve had it. And Charles, you remember, he crashed with it in Montreal.

“And I had the same experience in my first run with it yesterday. But, also, like the brakes felt pretty good, and I ultimately braked in the same position as I did in P1, but [with] a little bit more pressure and it snapped the rears.”

While Hamilton referenced Leclerc’s crash in FP1 for the Canadian GP, the Monegasque’s off in Montreal was not the same type of incident as the Briton’s spin in SQ1 at the Belgian GP. While the 27-year-old locked his front-right tyre, Hamilton spun after he locked his rear axle.