Lewis Hamilton dismissed a claim by Nico Rosberg that inconsistency was his main weakness, saying his former Mercedes team mate was just in need of a good headline.
Rosberg, who defeated Hamilton and clinched the world title in 2016, told Sky Sports earlier this week that for all his former rival's strengths, he did have one relative flaw.
"The weakness Lewis has is a bit of inconsistency," Rosberg said.
Hamilton blew off the remark however, believing his results last season actually prove his overall solidity, and took the opportunity to take a swipe of his own at Rosberg.
"I think I've proved that that's not the case last year," he said, in light of a remarkable campaign in which he won nine times.
"I think there's a lot of people who need to get headlines and that's one way of [doing] it.
"The goal this year is to be even more consistent than last year. I think consistency is the main reason I won the world championship last year."
Hamilton's arch rival Sebastian Vettel conceded that weaknesses could be found in everyone, but refrained from passing judgment on the man sitting next to him.
"Well, there aren't many, I think he's been doing a good job for many years now," Vettel said in Thursday's drivers' press conference.
"It's always a bit of a weird question to answer when the person is sitting right next to you! But there's not many. I'm sure we all have our weaknesses.
"Maybe some is part of our characters, some is part of our driving, but to be honest I don't really think about those too much.
"I think about mine quite a lot and try to get better in what I consider I need to improve. Concerning other people, it's not in my hands so I try to finish my plate."
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