Nico Rosberg's downwards spiral has only worsened in Bahrain.
With teammate Lewis Hamilton riding a wave of form and confidence, German Rosberg headed to the desert Kingdom determined to bounce back.
But it backfired spectacularly in qualifying, as the 29-year-old slumped to third place, behind not only Hamilton but also Sebastian Vettel's resurgent Ferrari.
"The starting point for Lewis is perfect as always," Mercedes team chairman Niki Lauda told Bild am Sonntag newspaper.
"But the six tenths gap between Nico and Lewis is worrisome," he added.
On German television RTL, however, Lauda insisted Rosberg cannot be written off.
But "from the first race in Melbourne, Lewis has simply done everything better. Nico needs to turn this around now.
"He needs to think about the counter-strategy he can do. It's not just about going faster, but thinking about something new to try to beat him," Lauda added.
The F1 legend said Rosberg is also psychologically weaker at present, having erred in complaining about Hamilton's race tactics in China a week ago.
"Basically, Nico has realised that complaining after the race was not good for him," he said. "On the other hand, Lewis' answer was correct when he said 'I'm here to win the race'."
So for now, F1 2015 appears headed for a two-horse title race, with the protagonists - silver-clad Hamilton and Vettel in the red corner - on the front row on Sunday.
"Ferrari is fast now because they started with the development of their car much earlier than us last year," said Wolff. "Because we were fighting for the title!
"What is clear is that the era of the easy one-two victories is over," he admitted. (GMM)
Rosberg 'must turn around slump' - Lauda
- Published on 19 Apr 2015 10:39
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- By: Priyantha Bleeker
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L. Hamilton
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C. Leclerc
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Feb 13
A. Antonelli
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Bahrain International Circuit - Winter testing
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Formula 1 Calendar - 2026
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Spain
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Bahrain
Formula 1 Calendar - 2026
Date
Grand Prix & Circuit
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Spain
Circuit de Catalunya
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Bahrain
Bahrain International Circuit
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Bahrain
Bahrain International Circuit
6 - Mar 8
Australia
Albert Park
13 - Mar 15
27 - Mar 29
Japan
Circuit Suzuka
10 - Apr 12
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Bahrain International Circuit
17 - Apr 19
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1 - May 3
United States of America
Miami International Autodrome
22 - May 24
Canada
Gilles Villeneuve
5 - Jun 7
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Monte Carlo
12 - Jun 14
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Circuit de Catalunya
26 - Jun 28
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Red Bull Ring
3 - Jul 5
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Silverstone
17 - Jul 19
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Spa-Francorchamps
24 - Jul 26
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Hungaroring
21 - Aug 23
Netherlands
Circuit Zandvoort
4 - Sep 6
Italy
Monza
Driver profile
- Team Ferrari
- Points 3,724
- Podiums 137
- Grand Prix 245
- Country United Kingdom
- Date of b. Jan 7 1985 (41)
- Place of b. Tewin, United Kingdom
- Weight 68 kg
- Length 1.74 m
- 485,810 comments on Ferrari
67 members have this team as their favourite
Tweets about Lewis Hamilton
Team profile
- Team name Mercedes
- Base Brackley, Germany
- Michael Schumacher 3
- Nico Rosberg 4
- Nico Rosberg 6
- Michael Schumacher 7
- Nico Rosberg 8
- Nico Rosberg 8
- Nico Rosberg 9
- Lewis Hamilton 10
- Andrea Kimi Antonelli 12
- Lewis Hamilton 44
- George Russell 63
- Valtteri Bottas 77
- 639,400 comments on Mercedes
- 59 members have this team as their favourite
- Tweets about Mercedes
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