Nico Rosberg has revealed a rumour that Ferrari is considering establishing a UK base — a move he believes could help address what he describes as a lack of “excellence” compared to the standards set by British Formula 1 teams like Mercedes.
The Scuderia has endured a lacklustre 2025 campaign so far, still reeling from the disappointment of narrowly missing out on last year’s Constructors’ Championship to rivals McLaren in Abu Dhabi.
Just 10 rounds into the season, Ferrari already trails by a staggering 191 points, with Charles Leclerc its highest-placed driver — yet still 94 points adrift of championship leader Oscar Piastri.
With Ferrari’s title drought seemingly set to continue, Italian media began speculating that Team Principal Fred Vasseur’s position was under threat — rumours he swiftly dismissed.
But another paddock rumour has been publicly highlighted by the 2016 World Champion, who sharply criticised Ferrari’s operations.
Speaking on Sky Sports’ The F1 Show, Rosberg said: “So I’ve seen a little bit of inner workings there at Ferrari, and you can see that the level of excellence that they’re at is not comparable to the British teams, and especially to someone like Mercedes, in many areas, whether it goes from marketing, to other areas.
“So you can just see there, the whole culture, the fact that they’re in Italy, it makes it a lot more difficult to them.”
Rosberg then revealed a rumour he had heard behind the scenes.
“There’s a couple of ideas that I heard going round. I think Ferrari has been exploring to perhaps open a kind of subsidiary in the UK, because that’s where the F1 ecosystem is.
“So I’ve heard rumours that they’re also thinking about opening a subsidiary there.”
Ferrari’s UK expansion could help Hamilton — but internal issues remain
Ferrari acquired the services of the seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton for 2025, the British driver departing the Silver Arrows after 12 seasons together.
A UK base of operations could benefit Hamilton as he continues to find his feet in the Italian squad.
Alongside Sauber, which is set to become Audi from 2026, Ferrari is one of the few F1 teams without a UK presence.
However, Rosberg warned that even if Ferrari pursued a UK base, it could create fresh complications rather than solve existing ones.
“The problem then is just getting the communication right,” he continued.
“If you do have a Ferrari entity in the UK, that’s one thing, but it still needs to communicate awesomely with the headquarters, and then maybe that’s not possible to get the communication that good, that that actually makes sense.”
The German also suggested that Ferrari’s internal structure lacks the clarity and decisiveness of its rivals, pointing to Hamilton’s past experience at Mercedes as a stark contrast.
“For example, at Mercedes, whenever Lewis had a thing, he would just go to Toto [Wolff], and Toto would be able to make the decision, call the shot immediately, done,” Rosberg explained.
“Whereas at Ferrari, there’s so many different decision-makers, and even Lewis doesn’t really know, ‘Okay, if I ask him, and he says yes and he does it, and the other guy still complains afterwards.’ It’s all a bit difficult there.”
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