‘Even if he’s the greatest of all time’: Rosberg points to age factor as Hamilton struggles with Ferrari but vows to keep pushing at Spanish GP

BARCELONA — Lewis Hamilton was disappointed, but determined yesterday evening after a difficult day of practice at the Spanish Grand Prix, during which former team-mate Nico Rosberg suggested his age may be catching up with the seven-time world champion.

Hamilton, who joined Ferrari this year, wound up 11th after second free practice and described his car as “not driveable”, a description moderated by team boss Fred Vasseur who admitted “the comments on the radio were a bit extreme”.

As the 40-year-old Briton battled to drive his capricious car around the Circuit de Catalunha, Rosberg, who beat him to win the world title in 2016, told SkyF1 that age was likely to be a factor in his struggles this year.

“Even if he’s the greatest of all time, at some point you are going to get a little bit slower and that’s age related,” said Rosberg.

“And when you are 40, it’s going to happen sooner rather than later.”