Nico Rosberg has been credited for Lewis Hamilton’s dominance in Formula One by the pair’s former boss.
Paddy Lowe believes Rosberg’s 2016 title win driving for Mercedes, where he was technical director, acted as a crucial turning point for Hamilton.
“None of us are perfect and, while Lewis is an amazing and unique driver, he has his weaknesses,” Lowe told the At The Controls podcast ahead of this weekend’s Portuguese Grand Prix
“But at the end of 2016, I saw a turning point when he closed down one of those weaknesses in a significant way.
“He lost in 2016 against Nico, and Nico is a terrific driver and very deserving of that world championship. He is the best match Lewis has seen, but I think the thing Lewis learned from that was he absolutely needed to be consistent and leave nothing to chance.
“Up to that time, he had been a little reliant on his talent. There was the odd race where you could tell he wasn’t 100 per cent in the game. And what I’ve seen since he lost to Nico, in 2016, is that he now leaves nothing on the table at all at any race. That’s really made him unbeatable.”
Hamilton boasts seven victories from 11 races this season and looks to be cruising to a record-equalling seventh world title.
The 35-year-old has a chance to enter the record books this week with a potential 92th grand prix victory, exceeding Michael Schumacher’s mark of 91.
Lowe said: “The sheer workload of achieving 91 victories is a feat in itself — and staying consistent and staying motivated.”
