Nico Rosberg gives Max Verstappen advice on how to beat Lewis Hamilton in F1 title race

Rosberg won the drivers’ championship while at Mercedes with Hamilton

Nico Rosberg has offered Max Verstappen some advice on how to beat Lewis Hamilton in this season’s Formula 1 title race.

Rosberg and Hamilton were Mercedes teammates between 2013 and 2016, with the Briton winning the drivers’ championship in 2014 and 2015 before the German triumphed in the pair’s final year together.

Rosberg immediately retired from the sport after winning his sole F1 title, while Hamilton has gone on to equal Michael Schumacher’s record of seven championship wins.

This season, Hamilton is defending is title against his newest rival, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. The Dutchman leads Hamilton by six points with six races remaining, and Rosberg has given the 24-year-old some tips on how to secure his first title.

“To win a Formula 1 world championship, first of all you need to look at your rival,” Rosberg told Square Mile.

“In [my] case, it was Lewis, he was the only real rival, and he’s now proven to be the best of all time, so the level is unbelievably high.

“But, as is the case with any human, there are also some weaknesses.

“First of all, it’s important to be at your absolute 110 per cent for the whole season, because anything less, you’re just not going to have a chance against him.

“And it’s also important to be consistent over the whole season, to really not have any big, bad races, and deliver at every moment.

“Lewis also has these periods where he loses a bit of motivation – he has these dips in form – and there it’s important to maximise those moments, to keep him down for a bit longer. If all these ingredients come together you stand a chance.”