Nico Rosberg claim made about Hamilton’s title success

Lewis Hamilton’s fifth world title win deserves extra acclaim because Nico Rosberg showed just how hard it is to win one against the Brit, according to the Former Renault driver and BBC’s F1 pundit Jolyon Palmer. “The demands on an F1 driver are intense,” the former Renault driver wrote in his BBC Sports column. “Firstly, to be physically super-fit. Secondly, to immerse yourself within the team, and understand what are very complex cars inside out - the controls and procedures, which change every year. “And on top of that, there is so much demand for a driver's time for PR activities and events. Particularly if you are Hamilton driving for a global brand like Mercedes. “To judge the potential effects of these demands, you only have to look at Hamilton's former team-mate, Nico Rosberg. “He was an excellent driver and he ran Hamilton fairly close while they were at Mercedes together. “He won the title in 2016 - but to do so he had to up his game that year to a level he had never reached before, shutting out almost everything else in his life. “Rosberg achieved it - with help from some Hamilton reliability woes - and promptly retired. It was all too much. “He had achieved his boyhood dream, but burnt himself out in the process, and he didn't have anything left in him to continue the fight. “Rosberg's retirement speaks volumes about the skill of Hamilton but also the resolve needed to keep going for that long and at that level of intensity. “Having said that, Rosberg did probably have to put in slightly more effort than Hamilton, because Hamilton makes up extra performance with a pure natural ability that few in F1 history have ever possessed.”

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