The key aspect due to which Lewis Hamilton lost to Nico Rosberg in the 2016 F1 season, according to former F1 engineer

Former Williams chief engineer Sam Michael claims Nico Rosberg's technical understanding helped him defeat Lewis Hamilton in 2016. The engineer worked with both Hamilton and Rosberg in his career and claims that the German's understanding of engineering helped him against the more 'naturally talented' Briton.

Sam Michael served the Grove-based team from 2001 to 2011 before transitioning to McLaren. This tenure allowed him the unique opportunity to work closely with both Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton during his time on both teams.

The Hamilton-Rosberg rivalry has been compared to that of Senna and Prost, who battled it out as teammates in the late 1980s. In 2016, the German driver was able to get the best of the now-seven-time world champion, narrowly winning his first and only title in the sport.

Michael claims that while Hamilton was naturally faster than his former teammate, Rosberg's technical understanding helped him beat the former McLaren driver in 2016. Speaking about Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, Sam Michael told the F1 Nation podcast:

“I never worked with them together in the same team. But the ultimate result is they raced against each other, and Lewis statistically was faster, more times."

He continued:

“But the huge advantage that Nico had over any driver was he was technically very smart. He was really good at understanding the car, and understanding how the engineering worked, and he used that to his advantage to win the Championship in 2016."

Charles Leclerc would prefer Lewis Hamilton as his teammate over George Russell, claims F1 pundit

According to F1 pundit Peter Windsor, Charles Leclerc would rather team up with Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes, while George Russell could fill Leclerc's seat at Ferrari. Windsor argues that Hamilton would be a more suitable partner for Leclerc.

During the early stages of this year's championship, rumors circulated about a potential direct swap between Hamilton and Leclerc for the upcoming season, as both drivers seemed dissatisfied with their respective team's performances.

However, Mercedes has regained their momentum with the upgraded W14 model, and Hamilton's recent second-place finish in the Spanish Grand Prix is a testament. Hamilton also finished ahead of his teammate, Russell.

As a result, speculation is growing that the British driver will extend his contract with Mercedes, and this decision could be reached in the coming days. If it happens, discussions about Hamilton joining Ferrari will likely quiet down for now.

Nevertheless, the possibility of Charles Leclerc partnering with the seven-time world champion in the future will always remain. On his YouTube channel, Peter Windsor said about Charles Leclerc:

“If you said to Charles right now, if he was here and you having dinner tonight privately, ‘Who would you rather have in the other Merc if you’re gonna go – George or Lewis?’, he’d say ‘Oh Lewis.'"

He continued:

"It would be a big problem for Charles to beat George at Mercedes. I’d be surprised if he does actually because George knows the team, he knows the whole thing, so as good as Charles is, I don’t believe he would out-perform George."

It will be interesting to see if Lewis Hamilton makes a switch in the coming years.