Rosberg reveals Ferrari's Achilles' heel amid ongoing podium drought

Early in the 2026 season, Ferrari looked like the team capable of consistently challenging Mercedes. Lewis Hamilton won in Barcelona, while Charles Leclerc triumphed in the UK, and the Briton was also in the mix for the drivers' world title alongside Kimi Antonelli and George Russell.

That is no longer the case ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Since the summer break, Ferrari is yet to finish on the podium, and Hamilton is now 101 points behind Antonelli in the standings.

Speaking on Sky Sports' The F1 Show, the 2016 world champion highlighted the Scuderia's biggest issue. The German said: "Isn't it the case that Ferrari always have messy weekends?

According to Rosberg, a podium was also on the cards for Hamilton, but his former teammate's race was cut short by a brake issue.

He concluded: "They're very close. They're just not putting it together properly. And they really need to somehow make progress on that. That's the main problem they're facing."

Hamilton said in Baku that he does not expect to have to take a grid penalty for using new engine components. "I currently don't foresee that I have to take a penalty given that, obviously, we didn't do the mileage on the last race (in Madrid). So I think we should be okay."

However, the seven-time world champion added that having a fresher power unit can also be a great advantage. Therefore, he will make a decision together with his team over the coming weeks. "But, naturally, with engines that from new to when they've done several races, there is a difference in performance, and so we will take that decision later on in the year."