Nico Rosberg, who clinched the drivers’ championship for Mercedes in 2016, is familiar with the strategies employed by the German manufacturer. The news that Sebastian Vettel could join Ferrari at the end of the season caused a stir in the paddock. This left Mercedes in a challenging position as they needed to find a replacement for the departing English driver. There were rumors that the former world champion could be a candidate for the position due to his German heritage. However, Nico Rosberg, the 2016 world champion, believes this scenario is unlikely given the current circumstances.
There have been suggestions of a partnership between Sebastian Vettel and Mercedes since the early days of the German’s career. This speculation gained momentum when Vettel’s idol, Michael Schumacher, also made a comeback with the Mercedes team. It seemed like Vettel could follow in his idol’s footsteps and come out of retirement to join Mercedes. This sparked debates in the paddock about the feasibility of such a move, considering Vettel’s absence from the sport for some time. Nico Rosberg reflected on this possibility and expressed skepticism.
The 38-year-old former champion stated that a Vettel-Mercedes pairing would be beneficial for the sport. However, Vettel’s performance in his last season (2022) was not up to his best, and he did not show flashes of his former glory. As a result, the 36-year-old driver is not being considered, despite Rosberg’s statement that he would be thrilled if Vettel returned to the team.
When George Russell joined Mercedes in 2022, he was underestimated for having a world champion teammate in Lewis Hamilton. However, Russell proved his worth on the track by outperforming Hamilton that season and establishing himself as one of the strongest drivers. Now, with Hamilton’s decision to leave the team, Russell faces the challenge of leading the team, and Rosberg believes he is doing an exceptional job.
Rosberg states that since it was announced that Hamilton would be leaving, Russell has been driving like the number one. Despite doubts about his abilities, Russell has proven to be the team leader at Mercedes. In the internal rivalry, the 26-year-old driver is far ahead of his teammate and is the only Mercedes driver to achieve a top-five result this season.
Despite Russell’s best efforts, he finds himself embroiled in a battle in the midfield and far from the dream of competing for a world championship. He has asked Mercedes to improve their performance, as the W15 car is not providing him with a stable platform to build on. Now, the responsibility falls on the engineers in Brackley to address the issues with the W15.
