This is how Nico Rosberg overcame self-confidence issues in 2016

Nico Rosberg has revealed he lacked self-confidence during his 2016 World Championship fight with Lewis Hamilton. Rosberg eventually won the 2016 title after the last race in Abu Dhabi, but the German never thought he could actually beat Hamilton to win. 

The 2016 season will always be remembered for the internal teammate title duel between Hamilton and Rosberg. In 2014 and 2015, Hamilton got the better of Rosberg and claimed his second and third world championships. But the story was different in 2016, as Rosberg won the title with a five-point margin. 

Lack of self-confidence

In an appearance on the Business of Sport podcast, Rosberg revealed some self-confidence issues he faced during the season. Hamilton was on a three-race winning streak going into Abu Dhabi, and the pressure was intense. 

"I never had that self-confidence. I never thought that I could actually win. Not even until the last corner of the last race. I still thought something would probably go wrong," Rosberg said, who saw Hamilton win the 2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Rosberg went on to detail some of the tips he received from his mental coach. "Of course you're focused on the championship, just never say it because what you say also has an impact on you. If you repeat 10 times that you're the greatest, you start to believe it. Just don't say it, even if you know it's there. I just wanted to make sure I did the best possible job. I wasn't thinking about the championship, and it worked."

Rosberg had two years remaining on his contract with Mercedes but decided to retire from the sport immediately. Toto Wolff selected Valtteri Bottas as Rosberg's replacement, and the new partnership was smoother than the previous one. Hamilton won every world championship between 2017 and 2020 without a season-long fight. Max Verstappen stopped Hamilton's run of titles in 2021.