F1 2018: Nico Rosberg Reveals Only Way to Beat Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton has won three Formula 1 Drivers’ Championships in the last four seasons and the only person to beat the Mercedes driver was his former teammate and 2016 world champion Nico Rosberg.

Rosberg won the title in 2016 despite Hamilton winning one race more than him and it was due to his consistency during the course of the campaign. The former finished outside the top five just once, and failed to finish a race also on just one occasion. Hamilton, on the other hand, suffered two retirements, which was the difference between winning and losing a championship. Rosberg retired from the sport just four days after winning his maiden title but continues his relationship with Mercedes as an ambassador for the team.

The German will be part of the 2018 F1 season coverage as a TV pundit and his first contribution was an advice to Hamilton’s main title challengers Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas and Red Bull Racing duo Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo on the only way they can beat his former teammate.

The 2016 champion concedes that the British racing driver is unbeatable when he is at his best, and made it clear to his challengers the need to have a perfect season. Rosberg believes the likes of Vettel and Bottas need to take advantage of Hamilton’s inconsistencies, which crop up at times during the course of the season, in order to have a chance at claiming the 2018 Drivers’ Championship title.

“The weakness Lewis has is a bit of inconsistency. He has these periods when he is just not on it," Rosberg said, as quoted on Sky Sports. "If you are able to pounce in those periods and really make the most of it, you can keep him down for a while longer. You have to make the most of it, absolutely, and Sebastian did that pretty well last year.”

"When Lewis has his good weekends he is almost unbeatable, he is unbelievably fast and maybe the best guy out there. The only way to beat Lewis is to be 100 percent with everything, do the perfect season. Otherwise there is no chance," he said.

Hamilton showed last season that he is beatable as he trailed Vettel by 14-points in the championship going into the summer break. However, Ferrari’s reliability issues scuppered the German’s chances as the Mercedes driver won five of the last nine races after the break to wrap up the title with two races to spare.

The 33-year-old will again enter the 2018 season as the favorite to win the title, and his rivals should be wary as he has labeled the 2018 car much better than its 2017 predecessor after their recent pre-season test.

The teams and the drivers are making their way to Australia with the first race of the 2018 season at the Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne just four days away.