Rosberg: Hamilton struggles when F1 races aren’t perfect

Reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton will bounce back from his dip in form in the last two Formula 1 grands prix, according to former teammate Nico Rosberg.

Hamilton recovered from a five-place grid penalty for changing his gearbox to take third in Bahrain, but could only manage a fourth-place finish in last weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix after struggling for pace all weekend. 

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Rosberg - who pipped Hamilton to the 2016 title just days before retiring from the sport - said his former title rival begins to reveal weaknesses when a race is not going perfectly. 

"When it doesn't go perfectly, he starts to lose that edge a little bit and a touch of motivation and then just struggles for a while," Rosberg explained. 

"You have to maximise those races because Lewis always comes back. Sebastian [Vettel] failed to do that [in China] which is a big setback for him. 

"When he comes back, he comes back so damn strong that he's almost unbeatable. And so let's see when that happens.”

Despite his low-key performance, the Briton trimmed the gap to world championship leader Sebastian Vettel to just nine points after the Ferrari driver finished eighth having suffered floor damage in a collision with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. 

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff admitted Hamilton had “not been in the best place” in China. 

“He was, like the car, maybe not in the best place this weekend. He’s the best driver in my opinion but also the best ones have days where it’s not just 100%.

“If you have a car underneath you that is not performing as expected and tyres that are not doing what you think they should do and the strategy goes against you.”