ID
IN D E TA I L
The World Championship
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4. Rosberg’s title charge
was almost de-railed
on Lap 1 in Malaysia.
XPB Images
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It made for an entertaining race and a
dramatic final lap as Sebastian Vettel
nearly found a way by Rosberg and
Verstappen waited to pounce, but
Rosberg just managed to hang in in
second place and score the points
he needed.
He kept his head in difficult
circumstances. Indeed, Rosberg’s
mental approach has been a key factor
in 2016.
“I push in all directions, the head
is an important part of sport,” he said
after clinching the crown. “I look into
that, and for me that just seemed the
best way.
If you think too
much about the
big picture and
everything, that
will just make you
nervous,
“because there’s so much at stake,
and the desire to be world champion
and that, that can weigh on your
shoulders.
“It really worked well for me to
just keep it simple, stay right in the
moment, and not go into all these
desires – the desire to be world
champion, that’s gigantic, holy moly,
so better stay away from that, just right
here in the moment. And it’s been a
big part of the success this year.
“It started after the beginning of the
season, after winning all those races,
it became very clear that
it would be
completely
wrong to start
thinking about
my championship,
because it’s Lewis
Hamilton that’s
my teammate,
he’s always going
to fight back,
he’s always going
to be massively
tough to beat.”
It was a strategy that paid off.
Rosberg now heads into 2017 as a
World Champion, with his confidence
no doubt on a higher level than ever.
How will his battle with Hamilton
develop? It’s going to be fascinating to
find out.
6
.
5. A
fter Rosberg’s rocky
start at Sepang, it
was Hamilton’s title
hopes that took the
biggest hit.
XPB Images
6. In the end, Rosberg
narrowly came out
on top.
XPB Images
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