Sebastian Vettel has been in a "negative spiral" ever since crashing out of the German Grand Prix in 2018, Nico Rosberg claims.
The four-time world champion was comfortably leading his home race at Hockenheim until a rain shower saw him slide off into the gravel in the Stadium section, a moment which many saw as the turning point in that year's championship.
Since that day, Vettel has only won twice (add last year's Canadian GP if you wish) and this year, in admittedly the worst Ferrari for some time, he sits only 13th in the Drivers' Championship with just 17 points from 11 races.
And reflecting on his fellow countryman's issues, Rosberg believes he has simply lost trust in the current generation of F1 cars.
"First of all these cars are much more nervous than we've ever seen," the 2016 world champion told Sky Sports. "The rear sometimes just snaps and you can't feel it, that takes away confidence from drivers a lot.
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"Sebastian has always been a driver who needs a stable rear end, he needs confidence in the rear end.
"I think he's gone into a big negative spiral. Things start small, one big mistake when you're in the lead in Hockenheim, another one here, another one there, and then it starts to become a big avalanche.
"It just spirals you negatively, and the more negative you are mentally the more doubtful you are, the more mistakes you do. It just goes from worst to worst to worst."
Rosberg though also noted that another key element in Vettel's apparent decline was the arrival last year of Charles Leclerc.
"The team also has Leclerc as their God, and he's not the God anymore," Nico continued. "That's also a big spiral downwards, and that's a big shock.
"He was the number one for Ferrari, for the whole country, and suddenly there's this young Leclerc, signed on a five-year contract. I think it's a big mental thing as well."
With the Scuderia deciding to part ways with Vettel after this season, the 33-year-old has found a new project at the current Racing Point team from 2021.
And Rosberg is among those who see his move to what will become Aston Martin as a chance for Seb to be reborn.
"His big chance is Aston Martin, it's a huge opportunity," he claimed.
"He's going to be God again in that team, the car is fast, he can have some real success moments and have a positive mental spiral, and maybe come back to being as good as he used to be, and also remove those mistakes.
"So it's a big chance for him, and I'm really happy for him that he's found that opportunity."
