Why the last driver to beat Hamilton to the F1 title is still backing him

Verstappen fended off Hamilton’s late charge in a thrilling conclusion to the United States Grand Prix to open up a 12-point buffer in the standings over his main rival heading into the final five races of the season. 

The battle looks set to go down to the wire, but Rosberg, who battled Hamilton for three world titles at Mercedes between 2014 and 2016, is still backing his former nemesis to come out on top. 

"It's exciting as ever, it's unbelievable," Rosberg told Sky at the COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow. "You have the two best of their generations going head to head and Verstappen is really in unbelievable form at the moment.

"But somehow I just think that Lewis, with his experience, is still going to pull it his way at the very end.”

Hamilton is seeking to become F1’s first-ever eight-time world champion to surpass the record he currently shares with Michael Schumacher, while Verstappen is aiming to win his maiden world title.

And Rosberg - who remains the last driver to defeat Hamilton in a title fight in 2016 - thinks Hamilton’s experience will ultimately pay dividends. 

"Lewis has done this before, he's already won seven titles, he's been in a title fight towards the end of the season nine or 10 times," he added. "For Max it's the first time ever and that is such an extreme situation to be in.

"It's your dream that's at stake, to be Formula 1 world champion, you don't really know if you'll ever have another chance, with the regulations changing next year you don't know if the Red Bull is still going to be a fast car next year.

"So there's a lot at stake and really the pressure is on Max to deal with this, being new to this kind of situation.”

But Rosberg stressed he has been impressed by how Verstappen has dealt with the pressure of being locked in such an intense title battle. 

"So far he's been doing amazingly,” Rosberg explained. “One doesn't even see that he's under pressure, it's incredible how he's dealing with it. 

“That's why he's also so strong at this point in time. Let's see how it continues."