Nico Rosberg says messing with Lewis Hamilton's head was crucial to beating his former Mercedes teammate to the 2016 Formula One world championship.
The German pipped Hamilton to his maiden F1 drivers' title by just five points in a tense Abu Dhabi showdown last season, before retiring from the sport just days later. Recently-crowned four-time world champion Hamilton won more races than Rosberg in 2016 -- claiming 10 victories -- but lost crucial points due to a number of reliability failures and poor starts throughout the season.
In an interview with F1 Racing, Rosberg said that losing weight during the summer break helped him snatch a crucial pole position from Hamilton at the Japanese Grand Prix. Hamilton made a slow getaway and dropped down the order, before recovering to third, while Rosberg took his final win in F1. Rosberg claimed beating Hamilton to pole by just 0.03s irritated his rival to such an extent that it made him fluff the start.
The result was a pivotal moment in the season, as it handed Rosberg a big enough points lead that he had the luxury of being able to clinch the title simply by finishing second to Hamilton in the remaining four races, which is exactly what he did, despite the Briton's controversial attempts to back Rosberg into the chasing pack in Abu Dhabi with his title hopes slipping away.
"Every single detail counts," Rosberg explained. "In the summer break last year I decided to stop cycling because the leg muscles are among the heaviest things on your body. I lost 1kg as a result that August. We came back, and three races later it was the Japanese Grand Prix.
"One kilo of body weight is 0.04 of a second per lap when the car is at the weight limit. I was on pole at Suzuka by 0.03 seconds. My smaller leg muscles got me on pole, and that messed with Lewis's head, so he messed up the start. I finished first, he finished third, and I had the points lead that I needed to be able to cruise home with second places."
Rosberg also revealed he made up his mind about his shock retirement on the grid in Abu Dhabi just moments before the final race of the season got underway.
"On the grid in Abu Dhabi, before the race," he replied when asked when he decided to retire. "I was trying to apply all my meditation skills, but nothing worked. What worked was the realisation that this might be my last race! I was like, 'Oh damn, okay, let's go and enjoy the driving -- it might be the last time!' That clarified all the stress.
"Through my mental training I've learned that for me it's important to follow my instincts," he added. "I've learned to listen to my instincts more and more, because I think it's a very powerful indication of what you should be doing -- and of what you want to do. So that's one thing. And I followed my instincts in this case by stopping."