Nico Rosberg believes his decision to stop cycling helped him to win the 2016 World Championship, because not only did it allow him to drop weight before the crucial final races of the season, but it also "messed" with team-mate Lewis Hamilton's head.
Rosberg secured the title by just five points after finishing second in the final four races of the season. Hamilton meanwhile won each of those races, but crucially, according to Rosberg, Hamilton didn't win the round prior to those races in Japan because he messed up the start as a result of Rosberg's mental games.
Rosberg did win though and he puts that down to his decision to stop cycling, which helped him to secure pole position in what was one of the most closely fought poles of the season, with just 0.013 splitting the duo.
"Every single detail counts. In the summer break last year I decided to stop cycling because the leg muscles are among the heaviest things on your body. I lost 1kg as a result that August. We came back, and three races later it was the Japanese Grand Prix," he explained to F1 Racing.
"One kilo of body weight is 0.04 of a second per lap when the car is at the weight limit. I was on pole at Suzuka by 0.03 seconds [actually just 0.01]. My smaller leg muscles got me on pole, and that messed with Lewis's head, so he messed up the start. I finished first, he finished third, and I had the points lead that I needed to be able to cruise home with second places."
Delving into the German's decision to retire just days after his title win, Rosberg admitted he actually made the decision before the final race of the season in which he clinched the crown.
"On the grid in Abu Dhabi, before the race," he replied when asked when he decided to retire. "I was trying to apply all my meditation skills, but nothing worked. What worked was the realisation that this might be my last race! I was like, 'Oh damn, okay, let's go and enjoy the driving — it might be the last time!' That clarified all the stress."
