2016 Formula One world champion for Mercedes, Nico Rosberg sees title battle headed to Red Bull in 2022 and believes Ferrari's only way to turn the tables is to "go for it"
While Formula 1 is still halfway through the 2022 season, there are some who believe that the battle for the title is already underway. And one of them is Nico Rosberg, owner of a world title in the category and who sees Ferrari already "with nothing to lose" in the middle of June. According to the German, the conquest became much more difficult due to the distance built by Red Bull.
"They kind of have nothing left to lose," Rosberg told broadcaster Sky Sports. "So it's about going up and seeing what can be maximized. Of course, they need to solve the reliability problems, but there's little pressure now," opined the 2016 world champion for Mercedes.
The beginning of the year presented a completely different scenario, and Charles Leclerc's victories in Bahrain and Australia - with two Max Verstappen retirements in the period - elevated the Italian team to the rank of great championship favorite. However, the tables have turned, and now it is Ferrari that suffers from car reliability while Red Bull piles up wins - it has now seven in the first nine races, and the Monegasque hasn't won since the Melbourne race.
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"They were big favorites after the first few races, but now they are way behind," he stressed. "So they have nothing to lose, go for it. It's push and see what they can do," he stated.
Finally, Rosberg said he cannot see Carlos Sainz on the same level as Leclerc. The German pointed out that the marriage between the Spaniard and the team could be fruitful for Ferrari, but he doesn't see - yet - the qualities of a world champion in the Scuderia's #55 driver.
"Sainz has everything within him to be a good driver for Ferrari," he continued. "But at the moment, he doesn't have inside him what he needs to be a world champion. In performance, Leclerc has been ahead of him in every single race of the year," the former German driver pointed out.
"So he still needs to find some progress to be on Leclerc's level, he's not there yet," Rosberg believes. "That's a bit surprising after last year, but of course, the car is completely different, so maybe it will take more time for him to figure things out," he finished.