Nico Rosberg has dismissed the chances of Lewis Hamilton winning the British Grand Prix despite upgrades to his Mercedes for the race.
Hamilton has won at Silverstone a record eight times, including seven of the last eight F1 races that have taken place there. But amid his car’s lack of competitivity this season, the Brit is in a less-than-ideal position to extend that record by beating the likes of Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc.
And his old team-mate Rosberg has echoed that point with his prediction for the race. “No they can’t win, no way,” the 2016 world champion told Sky Sports’ Any Driven Monday show. “They’re still too far away from performance of Ferrari and Red Bull. They’re still miles away.”
While Mercedes have struggled for performance all season, they will hope to be a little more competitive at Silverstone. The Silver Arrows are bringing updated cars to the race, as they and several other teams on the grid look to boost their fortunes for the rest of the season.
Technical director Mike Elliott confirmed the news that Hamilton and George Russell should have a better car to drive when they arrive at the Northamptonshire track. “We will be bringing new bits to Silverstone, we will be trying to push the car forward, trying to get some pace from the car we’ve got or from the package we’ve got as well as the new bits we are going to add to it,” he said.
Rosberg and Hamilton were team-mates at Mercedes until the German’s retirement after winning the 2016 title
(Image: AFP/Getty Images)
“I think at the same time though we have to be honest with ourselves and say that at the moment we are just a little bit behind those front runners in Ferrari and Red Bull. And in a normal race I think it is going to be tough .
“I think Silverstone will be a circuit that suits us a little bit better, like Barcelona did, but maybe it will be just a little bit difficult. Whatever happens we will push as hard as we can. Our drivers will push as hard as we can because we want to get back to winning. We want to win for the team, we definitely want to win and we want to win for you, the fans, so let’s see what happens.”
