Nico Rosberg leaves Sky Sports panel speechless with Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc claim
Lewis Hamilton’s former rival and Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg left the Sky Sports panel speechless with a comment about the Brit’s clash with Charles Leclerc at the Mexican Grand Prix.
Hamilton finished second behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in Mexico City, while Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli’s third-place finish was enough to clinch the championship with four races remaining in 2026. The Italian also became the youngest-ever F1 world champion at just 20 years and 68 days old.
Hamilton, who started on pole, got into a battle with Ferrari teammate Leclerc at Turn 4. The Monegasque was adjudged to have passed him off track and was handed a five-second penalty. Leclerc eventually finished fourth.
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The Brit could be heard saying over team radio, “Got pushed out by my own teammate,” while Leclerc admitted after the race that he “deserved” the penalty.
“The thing is that it was a bit confusing because we both didn’t make Turn 4,” Leclerc said.
“Then I stayed ahead, and then Max got past Lewis. So yeah, then I asked, ‘What should I do?’ And I kept the position and took a deserved penalty.”
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Hamilton later accused Leclerc of “working against” him, while team principal Fred Vasseur accused both drivers of a “lack of respect” for the brand.
Hamilton’s former Mercedes teammate and long-time rival Rosberg, who was part of Sky Sports’ broadcasting team, then left his fellow panel members speechless with his take on the situation.
When asked if Ferrari could find a “working way forward”, Rosberg replied: “Interestingly, it’s always Charles’ fault, isn’t it? It’s never Lewis’s fault. In the last couple of times, in Monza it was Charles, here it was Charles…” The rest of the broadcast team appeared reluctant to comment on the British driver.
The 41-year-old initially suggested Leclerc was within his rights to try to pass Hamilton, before backtracking and changing his mind.
“Leclerc was a bit too aggressive there [at Turns 1 and 2], I’d have to say,” Rosberg said.
“Leclerc was ahead going in, I think you’ve got to keep it now.”
He added: “The problem is that Leclerc was only ahead on the outside because he just braked way too late… wow, this is a tough one.
“My final verdict is that Leclerc would deserve to lose a bit of race time and probably get a five-second penalty. I’ve changed my mind! I think I would go for that now.
“[10 seconds] would be too much, especially because Lewis also went off. I think five would probably be the fairest at the moment.”
READ NEXT: Lewis Hamilton threatens Ferrari on radio as Valtteri Bottas horror crash stops Mexico City GP
F1 returns for the Brazilian Grand Prix on 8 November.
Formula 1 standings after the Mexican GP
- Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) — 380 points
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull) — 261 points
- Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) — 259 points
- George Russell (Mercedes) — 250 points
- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) — 245 points
- Lando Norris (McLaren) — 221 points
- Oscar Piastri (McLaren) — 144 points
- Isack Hadjar (Red Bull) — 107 points
- Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) — 83 points
- Pierre Gasly (Alpine) — 42 points
- Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) — 38 points
- Franco Colapinto (Alpine) — 27 points
- Oliver Bearman (Haas) — 23 points
- Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) — 14 points
- Nico Hülkenberg (Audi) — 13 points
- Esteban Ocon (Haas) — 7 points
- Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) — 7 points
- Carlos Sainz Jnr (Williams) — 7 points
- Alexander Albon (Williams) — 5 points
- Yuki Tsunoda (Racing Bulls) — 1 point
- Ryo Hirakawa (Haas) — 1 point
- Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) — 0 points
- Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac) — 0 points
- Sergio Perez (Cadillac) — 0 points
Topics: Formula 1, Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, Kimi Antonelli
Luke Davies