Nico Rosberg, the last driver to defeat Lewis Hamilton in a title battle, has predicted his former rival and teammate will come out on top against Max Verstappen this weekend.
The Formula One season goes down to the wire in this Sunday's Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, with Hamilton and Verstappen level on points going into the season's final race.
Hamilton has won the last four drivers' championships and the 36-year-old Mercedes driver is chasing a record eighth crown, with the Dutchman, 24, his first.
The pair have collided three times already and are level on points going into the final race — only the second time that has happened and first since 1974 — with Verstappen 9-8 ahead on wins.
In 2016, Rosberg sealed the title in Abi Dhabi ahead of Hamilton — then his Mercedes teammate — and retired days later. The German believes Hamilton has hit form at the right time but knows the pressure the duo will be under all too well.
“Lewis is on fire, he has such great form, winning three [races] in a row and he’s brought it into free practice here,” Rosberg told Sky Sports on Saturday. “You kind of feel he has to be a little bit the favourite at the moment.
“I was in such a title battle in 2016 and it’s a lot, just the intensity. The nerves. Someone like Max, from outside sometimes you think ‘This guy doesn’t even get nervous’ but that’s not true. Inside we’re still all humans … and both of them will be on the edge of their seats this weekend.”
Rosberg described trying to get some sleep ahead of the race five years ago in Abu Dhabi as “an absolute disaster” and even eating food became a problem.
“It was like two, maximum three, hours per night. I couldn’t even eat properly. The food wouldn’t go down. So I had to revert back to my childhood food which was Frosties and milk,” he said. “That was the only thing that would go down.
“And it’s all these troubles that you are then fighting throughout the weekend, you just have to try and spare the energy to when it matters.”
Rosberg also described Hamilton as a skilled operator when it comes to dealing with the media. “The media game is something you have to play if you want to win a world championship. It’s always like that because the media has such a power, even internally in the team,” said Rosberg.
“Lewis is very, very good at that. His latest strategy has been to stay out of things, stay very low profile and just let the attention and pressure build on Max’s shoulders. And that has worked very well.
“Christian has to try and do what he can because for young Max it’s the first time he’s in a championship fight. It’s a big ask, against one of the greatest of all time.”
