2016 Formula 1 champion Nico Rosberg claims only a "perfect season" is enough for a driver looking to beat Lewis Hamilton to the title.
The former Mercedes driver made the claim as part of his look ahead to the new season after being announced as an analyst for British broadcaster Sky Sports at selected races during 2018.
As one of only two drivers to have beaten the current world champion in the same team over a full year, Rosberg is well placed to reveal what it takes to get the job done against the Briton.
"The weakness Lewis has is a bit of inconsistency," the German claimed. "He has these periods when he is just not on it and if you are able to pounce in those periods and really make the most of it, you can keep him down for a while longer.
"Sebastian [Vettel] did that pretty well last year but when Lewis has his good weekends he is almost unbeatable, he is unbelievably fast and maybe the best guy out there.
"The only way to beat Lewis is to be one-hundred percent with everything, do the perfect season. Otherwise, there is no chance."
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Looking to follow in Rosberg's footsteps is the man who replaced him at the Brackley-based team, Valtteri Bottas. The Finn made a good start keeping within touching distance initially before dropping back in the second half of the year and resulting in the uncertainty over his future beyond this season.
"I hope that Valtteri can be even closer this year because last year he showed some really big flashes of brilliance but it just lacked in consistency," Nico commented.
"I think he can do it, I think he can really ramp it up even further and get very, very close. That is what we want to see, we want to see a good internal battle there."
