Rosberg: There was $100-million on the table I gave up on

But instead decided to walk away at the height of his success; a shock decision at the time that split opinions across Formula 1's great divide.

From the moment it was confirmed Lewis Hamilton would ditch McLaren to replace Michael Schumacher at Mercedes, joining Rosberg in the team from 2013 onwards, the perception was that Monaco's rich-kid Nico had no chance of beating Stevenage's streetwise Lewis

And that was the case, as Rosberg recalled in an interview with The Times Magazine: “At the time it was like: He’s probably too nice to be world champion against the ruthless Lewis.

"And while it was frustrating to be asked about it, again and again: Are you too nice? Do you think you need to get your elbows out a bit more?

"I lost to Lewis three years in a row. And it was so painful, the last time [in 2015] I locked myself in a hotel room. I reminded myself that this is an opportunity to push, push, push like hell. It just enhanced my motivation, my focus."

Rosberg explained how the rivalry was so intense that it spilt over beyond the Marecedes garage and race tracks around the globe: “There were the two camps: the Nico camp and the Hamilton fans. And all the Hamilton fans were against me, of course."

And went into detail: “There were these four-year-old girls right in front of me with their dads, and they were booing me and giving me the thumbs down. Their dads had told them I was bad and that they needed to boo me."

Rosberg admitted, immediately after his 2016 coronation in Abu Dhabi, that he woke up realising he could not muster the firepower and energy for a rematch against Lewis and decided to quit on the spot. But that was not the main reason according to Nico: “I wanted to avoid going out as a has-been or someone who is not wanted anymore.

"I mean, there was $100-million on the table I gave up on. I longed for a different kind of life. You don’t have flexibility when you’re racing. It was the best decision for my family, I didn’t think about the money for one second," admitted Rosberg.

Stats show that apart from the 2016 F1 World Championship, Rosberg made 206 Grand Prix starts, celebrating 57 times on the podium and as a winner on 23 of those occasions. Prior to claiming his one and only title, he had been runner-up twice to Hamilton in 2014 and 2015