Calcutta/Davos: Formula One world champion Nico Rosberg said on Friday he was enjoying the freedom of retirement and could turn his focus to renewable energy now that he has left the racetrack.

According to an interview posted on weforum.org, the website of the World Economic Forum being held in Davos, Switzerland, the former Mercedes Grand Prix driver said "life has more to offer than driving around in circles.

"I want to go for new challenges... now all of a sudden it's freedom," he said, adding he had not been able to go skiing for 11 years due to contract clauses.

"I am exploring," the German said when asked what the future held. "Renewable energy is something that could be quite interesting. There's so many possibilities, electrical cars as well."

Rosberg, who has a one-year-old daughter, hoped to use his fame be give back to the world.

"I'm going to go visit children who are quite ill, and especially children of an age who will be really happy to see me," he said.

The champion, who beat British teammate Lewis Hamilton to the title last year, gave more insight into that battle and how he had prepared for the biggest season of his career.

Rosberg, who spent much of the year explaining to the world media that he was taking one race at a time, said he had simplified his private life to shut out any distractions over the race weekend.

He turned to a mental trainer, and used meditation to increase concentration and be more aware of his emotions, while the team employed a "jet-lag doctor" to manage sleep patterns in a season of 21 races.

"It (meditation) is a big word and often misinterpreted," said Rosberg. "The way I did it was more a concentration practice and learning to control your mind a little bit, which you really do with spending a bit of time on it.

"And also learning to be more aware of your emotions and thoughts. Because if you are aware of them, you can slow them down and move your mind into other things and more positive thoughts.

"That really was one of the ingredients to me being even stronger... it really was beneficial," he said.

Rosberg expressed his amazement at how Hamilton, a triple world champion, lived life to the full with frequent trips to the Americas in-between races and continued to be a favourite to win the championship in 2017.

Just days after he won the F1 world championship, Rosberg stunned the world by announcing his retirement in early December.

The 31-year-old German won the championship, after finishing second in the final race in Abu Dhabi.

"I have climbed my mountain, I am on the peak, so this feels right," Rosberg said while announcing his retirement. "For 25 years in racing, it has been my dream, my 'one thing', to become Formula 1 world champion."

The son of Finnish 1982 world champion Keke, Rosberg made his F1 debut for Williams at the Bahrain Grand Prix in 2006, finishing seventh. And when asked if there was any chance of a return, Rosberg had said: "No definitely not. End of story. Done."

Though their rivalry was bitter, Hamilton and Rosberg had known each other for years. Rosberg's retirement did not shock Hamilton. "I'm probably the only people to whom it was not a surprise," Hamilton had said during the FIA award ceremony. "But that's because I've known him for a long time.

"This is the first time he's won [in their rivalry since karting] in 18 years... that's why it was not a surprise that he decided to stop... "But he's also got a family to focus on."