Nico Rosberg says Lewis Hamilton isn’t ‘allowed to talk about’ the real reason for Ferrari turnaround

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Nico Rosberg believes Lewis Hamilton’s brake change is the main reason for his turnaround in form – but he can’t discuss it openly.

Hamilton’s resurgence ascended to new heights in Sunday’s Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix as he took his first win for Ferrari, ending a drought that went back to the summer of 2024.

Last year, the seven-time world champion failed to score a single podium, but now there’s talk of a potential title challenge, particularly after standings leader Kimi Antonelli suffered a DNF.

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

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Nico Rosberg: Lewis Hamilton brake change has unlocked his ‘confidence’

Hamilton started the 2026 season positively with a battling P4 in Australia and a maiden Ferrari podium in China, then appeared to lose momentum over the next two weekends.

He posted back-to-back P6 finishes in Japan and Miami, clearly lagging behind teammate Charles Leclerc in both races.

However, it has emerged that Hamilton changed his front brake discs at Suzuka, switching from Brembo to more familiar Carbon Industrie material. While the impact wasn’t immediate, Rosberg has seen an obvious improvement in his ‘confidence’.

What is the BIGGEST reason for Lewis Hamilton’s turnaround at Ferrari this year?

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In fact, Leclerc even chose to copy Hamilton with his brake set-up for the race in Barcelona after blaming his own configuration for a race-ending crash in Monaco.

“A few races ago he changed from the Brembo brakes, the historical Ferrari brakes, to the Carbon Industrie brakes, which are his brakes from Mercedes,” Hamilton’s former teammate told Sky Sports F1 (14/06, 12:43).

“I think it coincides with that timing, where suddenly he had more confidence, he feels the car better and, in fact, Charles Leclerc has now followed him, because he’s been struggling with his brakes as well.

“And Lewis, yesterday was one of his magical laps. It was incredible what he pulled out of that car even with those two, three little small mistakes. So fast.”

Rosberg was echoing comments he made in an earlier interview with Sky Sports News. Neither Hamilton nor Ferrari have gone into detail about the change, partly because of Ferrari’s half-century relationship with Brembo.

“It really all came together when he changed the brakes, so he went to Carbon Industrie, which is the brakes he had at Mercedes, even though Brembo is a sponsor, so you’re not really allowed to talk about it!” Rosberg said.

Brembo released a statement defending themselves after the Monaco GP when Leclerc intimated that their brakes had caused him to crash. Ferrari will no doubt be wary of protecting that relationship while also trying to keep both drivers happy.