What Lewis Hamilton hates most in F1, Nico Rosberg reveals

Hamilton currently trails teammate George Russell by 34 points in the Drivers' championship

Lewis Hamilton is not used to battling in the midfield after dominating the sport in the last eight seasons. The Mercedes driver has won six of the last eight Drivers' World Championships, and has very rarely finished outside of the podium places since the Silver Arrows began dominating the sport.

In 2022 though, the Brackley-based team has fallen behind Red Bull Racing and Ferrari after failing to interpret the new rules as well as its rivals. Hamilton has had to settle with fighting for fifth place or below in most of the seven races thus far.

Nico Rosberg, Hamilton's former Mercedes teammate, is certain that the Briton will not be happy about his current situation. However, the 2016 F1 world champion has revealed that if there's one thing Hamilton hates the most, it is finishing behind his teammate - be it in second or 13th.

Lewis Hamilton — Follow the leader: Hamilton refused to let team-mate Nico Rosberg overtake at the 2014 Bahrain Grand Prix MARWAN NAAMANI/AFP

In the last eight seasons, Hamilton finished behind his teammate in the championship only in 2016 behind Rosberg. The seven-time world champion is facing a similar situation against new teammate George Russell in 2022.

Russell has been able to tame the "sidepod-less" Mercedes car better this season, and has finished in the top five in each of the seven races thus far. Hamilton, on the other hand, has finished inside the top five on just two occasions.

"It's definitely a very tough situation for Lewis," Rosberg said, as quoted on Crash.net. "He's won a race in every season of his career and it looks like maybe this will be the year when he can't win anymore."

"Let's not forget also Lewis hates ending up behind his teammate," he added. "Even if you're 11th or 13th he really passionately hates coming in behind his teammate."

"I've spoken to some people within Mercedes and they've been very positive about him. He's super motivated, really pushing hard and let's not forget he hates coming second. He does not want to come second to Russell and that alone is a big, big motivator for Lewis."

Hamilton is currently sixth in the Drivers' championship with 50 points, which is a mammoth 34 points behind his less experienced teammate Russell. The younger Briton is in fourth place, even ahead of Ferrari's Carlos Sainz.