Get to know F1 Drivers: Nico Rosberg

 Hi' this week I'm introducing Nico Rosberg

Nico Erik Rosberg (born 27 June 1985) is a German-Finnish former racing driver. He competed in Formula One from 2006 to 2016, winning the World Drivers' Championship in 2016 with Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport. The only child of Finnish 1982 Formula One World Champion Keke Rosberg and his German wife Sina Rosberg, he was raised primarily in the Principality of Monaco.

Personal background and education

Rosberg was born on 27 June 1985 at the Red Cross Hospital in Wiesbaden, West Germany, the only child of Finnish racing driver Keke Rosberg, who won the 1982 Formula One World Championship, and German interpreter Gesine "Sina" Rosberg (formerly Gleitsmann-Dengel).Because his father is Finnish and his mother is German, Rosberg is a citizen of both countries, competing with a Finnish racing license until after his first season in the Formula 3 Euro Series. He switched to a German license as he felt it was easier to obtain major sponsorship agreements with nationality of a larger country.

Rosberg was raised in the Wiesbaden district of Nordenstadt in the first four weeks of his life, before living between the principality of Monaco and the Spanish island of Ibiza. He was educated at the International School of Nice and the International School of Monaco. Rosberg was encouraged to pursue ventures in academia and sports. He was taught five languages: English, French, German, Italian and Spanish, but not Finnish or Swedish, as his father considered those other languages more important for Nico's life and career. Rosberg enjoyed studying mathematics and science, and passed all of his examinations except history. He graduated with an average grade of 1.2 in 2002.

Rosberg married interior designer Vivian Sibold at a civil ceremony in Monaco on 11 July 2014. They have two children, Alaïa (born 2015) and Naila (born 2017), and run a creamery shop in Ibiza. He is a fan of the German football club FC Bayern Munich, played for the Monaco national tennis team, and formerly competed in triathlon events; these skills allowed him to save a five-year-old child from drowning in Monaco.

1991-2001 Karting

At the age of four, Rosberg had his first driving experience when his father took him to a go-kart track in Ibiza for a holiday. He steered a Jeep, and his father controlled its speed with the accelerator and the brake pedals. Rosberg began competitive racing at the age of six and decided to aim for a career in Formula One motor racing after he observed his father competing in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft in 1995. His parents, who did not discourage their son's career choice, consented on the condition that he maintained good grades at school. Rosberg's competitive mindset, and his early achievements in go-karting helped him to improve his driving ability and to convince his father to manage him.

In 1996, Rosberg won the Côte d'Azur Mini-Kart Regional Championship, and the Trophee Jérôme Bernard and the Trophee de France in 1997. Aged 12, he was the youngest champion of a French national karting series. Rosberg finished second in the French Manufacturers' Trophy and the Côte d'Azur Regional Championship in the same year. He progressed to the European karting championships for 1998 after moving from France to Italy so he could enter international events. Competing in the 100 Junior category in a CRG kart, Rosberg finished fifth at the 28° Torneo Industrie, seventh in the Trofeo Andrea Margutti, and crashed out in the 1998 Green Helmet Trophy Cadets class of the European Championship for Cadets. In 1999, he was runner-up in the Italian Junior Karting Championship and was fourth in the ICA Junior CIK-FIA European Championship, again driving a CRG.

Rosberg's father asked CRG executive Dino Chiesa in late 1999 to establish a separate karting team for his son and fellow driver Lewis Hamilton for a period of two to three years. Rosberg raced for TeamMBM.com (Mercedes-Benz McLaren) for the 2000 season. He was runner-up in the European KF1 Championship and finished ninth in the Formula A World Cup. In 2001, Rosberg was tenth in the South Garda Winter Cup and sixteenth in the Formula Super A World Championship. He concluded his karting career with a third-place finish in the latter series at a race in Kerpen.

2001-2005 Junior car career

Rosberg in his 2002 Formula BMW ADAC title-winning campaign

At the age of 16, Rosberg progressed to car racing, competing in three races for the 2001 Formula BMW Junior Cup Iberia finishing in 18th in the Drivers' Championship with 38 points. For his first full season of car racing, he drove for VIVA Racing in the 2002 Formula BMW ADAC Championship, winning the drivers' title with nine victories from twenty races and amassing 264 points. For winning the title, Rosberg drove a Williams FW24 at a test session at the Circuit de Catalunya on 3 December. At the time, he became the youngest person ever to drive a Formula One car.

The 2003 season saw Rosberg progress to the higher-tier Formula 3 Euro Series with Team Rosberg. Driving a Dallara F303-Opel car, he won once at the Bugatti Circuit and took five podium finishes for eighth in the Drivers' Championship with 45 points. He was second in the Rookie Cup to Christian Klien. In November 2003, Rosberg was given a test in a Formula 3000 car at the Circuito de Jerez by Paolo Coloni, the team owner of Scuderia Coloni, as preparation for future F1 testing with Williams. That same month, he entered the Macau Grand Prix and the Korea Super Prix with Carlin Motorsport, finishing 11th in Korea. Rosberg tested twice more for Williams in a modified FW25A car at the Circuit de Catalunya in December and January 2004 for them to evaluate his ability as a test driver.

He remained with Team Rosberg for the 2004 Formula 3 Euro Series. Before that, Rosberg won two rounds of the Spanish Formula 3 Winter Series at the Circuito de Albacete as preparation. He won the season's first two races at the Hockenheimring and his campaign faltered through incidents and accidents: he took one other victory at the Nürburgring and three podium finishes. Rosberg finished fourth in the Drivers' Championship with 70 points and was sixth at the Masters of Formula 3. He later crashed from the lead of the Macau Grand Prix in November and was second at the Bahrain Superprix a month later.

In the off-season, he passed an interview for acceptation into Imperial College London, a university where several Formula One designers were educated, to study aeronautical engineering. Rosberg chose not to further his education so as to be able to commit to his racing career; the university would have allowed him to combine the course with his racing. Rosberg's father did not overturn the decision. For the inaugural GP2 Series season in 2005, Rosberg wanted to drive for BCN Competicion due to its form in the 2004 International Formula 3000 Championship. ART Grand Prix founders Nicolas Todt and Frédéric Vasseur used a sales presentation to persuade him to race for their squad; he paid around £850,000 to drive for the team.

Rosberg achieved his first series victory in the sprint race at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours and won the feature races at Silverstone Circuit and the Hockenheimring from pole position. He took the Drivers' Championship lead with a third-place finish in the feature race at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps when previous leader Heikki Kovalainen took eighth. Rosberg maintained the points lead during the season-ending Bahrain International Circuit round, winning both races to claim the first GP2 Series title with 120 points.

Formula One career

2005-2009 Williams

In April 2005, Rosberg was signed by Williams as its second test driver. He and fellow driver Nelson Piquet Jr. were analysed extensively before Rosberg was selected. He worked with Williams's test and reserve driver Antônio Pizzonia and continued to focus on the GP2 Series. After race driver Nick Heidfeld was injured in a bicycle accident in September, Rosberg was shortlisted by Williams as his potential replacement for the final two races, the Japanese Grand Prix and the Chinese Grand Prix. The team opted for Pizzonia because they did not want to risk delaying Rosberg's career by one to two years if he had a poor performance.

Bernie Ecclestone, Formula One's commercial rights owner, said to Williams team principal and founder Frank Williams he thought it would be advantageous to sign Rosberg as part of a campaign to bring energetic drivers to the sport. Williams told Rosberg in October 2005 that he was assured of a role on the team as either a racer or test driver for 2006 after British American Racing's Jenson Button was released from a contract with the team. Autosport reported Rosberg signed a contract that month to race for Williams in 2006 allowing the team to provide him with as much car acclimatisation as possible. The following month, Rosberg signed a five-year contract with Williams, being selected by Frank Williams for his driving ability, his knowledge of Formula One technology, and for articulately communicating data to engineers. He was told of the news by his father in advance.

Rosberg at the 2006 Canadian Grand Prix

Rosberg was paid £500,000 by Williams and was the first son of a former world champion in Formula One since Damon Hill in 1999. To prepare for the season, he achieved the highest score ever in Williams's Engineering Aptitude Test, which tests a new driver's knowledge of car mechanics and engineering aspects of Formula One, and ceased reading the news to avoid becoming angered by negative publicity. He was assigned race engineer Tony Ross. At the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, Rosberg scored his first career points with a seventh-place finish and set the race's fastest lap, becoming at the time the youngest fastest lap setter in history, aged 20 years, 8 months and 13 days. One week later, at the Malaysian Grand Prix, he achieved a season-best start of third before his engine failed after seven laps. He scored points once more during the season with a seventh at the European Grand Prix as he made driver errors from inexperience and drove an unreliable car. Rosberg was outpaced by his teammate Mark Webber, with whom he had a good relationship. He finished with 4 points for 17th in the World Drivers' Championship (WDC).

For 2007, Rosberg was partnered by the more experienced Alexander Wurz. He and his father mutually agreed to stop working with each other, and began working with a sports psychologist. Rosberg's performances improved greatly from 2006 due to Williams restructuring itself and employing more experienced and capable personnel, making his FW29 car reliable and more efficient with the installation of a less complex seamless transmission. He had more confidence in setting up the car to his liking, extracting additional speed and balance consistently. Rosberg also gained experience in controlling his emotions without losing speed, frequently qualified ahead of Wurz and took points seven times with a season-best of fourth at the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix. Rosberg scored 20 points for ninth in the WDC.

His performances throughout the season enhanced his reputation, and he was linked to several teams for 2008. McLaren offered Frank Williams "majestic proportions" to sign Rosberg to replace the outgoing two-time world champion Fernando Alonso, but Williams immediately rejected the offer. Rosberg's contract was extended to the end of 2009 on the basis of where Williams finished in the Constructors' Championship. Rosberg later told Williams of his desire to remain with them on the condition he would receive a competitive car.

Rosberg driving in the 2008 Monaco Grand Prix

The 2008 season was the first in which Rosberg was the more experienced driver on his team, being partnered by Williams test driver Kazuki Nakajima. He began the season by finishing third at the Australian Grand Prix, the first podium finish of his career. Afterwards, his campaign faltered because the FW30 car lacked outright performance and Williams did not develop the car fast enough for it to be competitive. Rosberg was occasionally outperformed by Nakajima, and driver errors lost him chances to score more points; he was able to adapt to a ban on traction control from Formula One. He improved the best result of his career with a second at the inaugural Singapore Grand Prix 14 races later, and finished 13th in the WDC with 17 points.

Rosberg was again partnered with Nakajima for the 2009 season. He lost five percent of his body weight to compensate for the introduction of the kinetic energy recovery systems increasing the car's minimum weight limit to 605 kg (1,334 lb). Rosberg had an improved season: the Williams FW31 was one of three cars to have an early speed advantage because it featured a double diffuser system, however, the team could not sustain the car's pace of development. He finished 16 of 17 rounds; the exception was the Brazilian Grand Prix. Rosberg was consistent in finishing in the points-paying positions, achieving a season-best result of fourth at the German Grand Prix and the following Hungarian Grand Prix. He scored 34.5 points for seventh in the WDC.

2010-2016 Mercedes

In mid-to-late 2009, Mercedes-Benz vice-president of motorsport Norbert Haug discussed with Rosberg the possibility of driving for the manufacturer in 2010 pending its acquisition of Brawn GP. Rosberg also talked to McLaren and Williams about potential employment; he was skeptical because Williams was mulling over whether Renault or Cosworth should be the team's engine supplier. On 29 October, he confirmed his departure from Williams at the conclusion of the season and was officially released from his contract with the team on 1 January 2010. One week later Mercedes purchased 75 percent of Brawn GP and entered Formula One under its own name, employing Rosberg to drive for the team. He was partnered with the seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher[ and was assigned car No. 4 after Schumacher requested No. 3 for superstitious reasons.

Rosberg was mentored by Mercedes team principal Ross Brawn and was apprehensive when Schumacher joined the team, given the history of Brawn and Schumacher's relationship at Ferrari. He was concerned that Schumacher would dominate the team, and in early strategy meetings, found that his own strategy was being discussed with Schumacher more than with him. He felt that Schumacher was constantly acting to cause him minor stress or to assert dominance.

Rosberg at the start of the 2010 Malaysian Grand Prix

Rosberg finished in third place at the Malaysian Grand Prix, the Chinese Grand Prix, and the British Grand Prix. He scored championship points in all but four rounds; he generally finished higher than he qualified and did so against his teammate Schumacher fifteen times to four that season. He was better able than Schumacher to cope with a terminal understeer affecting the MGP W01's handling due to Mercedes forgoing much development work on the car because of Brawn GP's title focus the previous year. The car was five-tenths of a second slower on most circuits. Rosberg was seventh in the WDC with 142 points. His performances during the season enhanced his reputation as a consistent and fast driver.

Rosberg remained with Mercedes for 2011 and was again joined by Schumacher. He had a mixed season: he led the Chinese Grand Prix and the Belgian Grand Prix, but the MGP W02 wore the Pirelli tyres quickly, making the car noncompetitive. Rosberg was able to maintain a consistent performance in every qualifying session and began higher than his teammate Schumacher sixteen times to three. He finished no higher than fifth in the season's 19 rounds and was seventh in the WDC with 89 points.

The press linked Rosberg to replace the poor performing Felipe Massa at Ferrari for 2012. In November 2011, he signed a contract extension to remain at Mercedes until after 2013. An important factor in Rosberg's decision was the Mercedes team undergoing a technical restructure, which saw the appointments of Bob Bell as technical director and Geoff Willis as head of technology in mid-2011. Other reasons included his belief Mercedes would be able to improve their performance and challenge for race victories.

Three-time world champion Niki Lauda began to advise Rosberg. At the Chinese Grand Prix, the season's third round, he took the first pole position of his career and his maiden career victory. He then challenged Red Bull's Mark Webber for the victory at the Monaco Grand Prix three races later before he settled for a second-place finish. Rosberg had accumulated more championship points than any other driver in the season's previous four races and emerged as an unlikely contender for the WDC. Notwithstanding this, he achieved one further top-five finish during the season. However, he struggled to generate temperature into the rear tires on the Mercedes F1 W03 regardless of the climatic conditions, and the car was suited to circuits with slow-speed corners. He was ninth in the WDC with 93 points.

Rosberg took the third victory of his career at the 2013 British Grand Prix

Before the 2013 season, Rosberg was joined at Mercedes by the 2008 world champion Lewis Hamilton, who replaced the retired Michael Schumacher. He was granted equal status by Mercedes and received no preferential treatment alongside Hamilton. During the pre-season period, Rosberg visited the Mercedes factory in Brackley, England, displaying a fascination with the F1 W04's technological development and assisting the team in the car's development.

Rosberg challenged his teammate Hamilton during the season qualifying higher eight times and finishing more often. At the Malaysian Grand Prix, the season's second race, a minor controversy came about when Mercedes invoked team orders on him to stay behind Hamilton. Unhappy with the decision, Rosberg led every lap from pole position to win the Monaco Grand Prix and became the first son of a world champion to win the event. He then won the British Grand Prix for his third career victory after Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel suffered a broken gearbox. Thereafter, Rosberg earned points in nine of the season's ten final rounds with consecutive podium finishes— second at the Indian Grand Prix and third at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. He finished sixth in the WDC with 171 points and three pole positions. Rosberg's results over the season earned him additional respect within the Formula One community.

Rosberg continued to drive for Mercedes in 2014 with Lewis Hamilton again as his teammate. He was regarded as a favourite for the WDC because of the team's development of the F1 W05 Hybrid car and adaptation to the technical regulations mandating the use of turbo-hybrid engines in pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit and the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Rosberg won the Australian Grand Prix to take the lead of the WDC and finished second in the next four races but Hamilton's four straight victories lost Rosberg the championship lead. Rosberg won the Monaco Grand Prix for the second year in succession to regain the points lead after qualifying on pole position in contentious circumstances. Victories in Austria, Germany, followed by contact with Hamilton in Belgium made it appear he would win the championship, until a short circuit on his car in Singapore nullified his points lead. Rosberg took four consecutive podium finishes and won the Brazilian Grand Prix to ensure the championship would be decided at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. To win the title, he needed to win the race with Hamilton third or lower. Hamilton was already ahead of Rosberg on track and leading the race when an energy recovery system failure meant Rosberg scored no points for second in the WDC with 317 points.

Having signed a contract worth a reported €55 million with Mercedes that was due to expire at the conclusion of 2016, Rosberg continued to drive for the team in 2015. During the off-season he sought to correct a body deficiency, which caused him to hold his breath against g-forces in high-speed corners, since he did not want to limit the flow of oxygen to his brain and muscles. After four top-three podium finishes in the first four races, he won in Spain, Monaco and Austria, which came as his overall performance lowered from focusing more on the race than on qualifying; Vettel threatened Rosberg's hold on second overall. Retirements in Italy and Russia and two errors on a wet track at the United States Grand Prix stopped him from taking the championship, but wins in the final three races in Mexico, Brazil and Abu Dhabi and six consecutive pole positions placed him runner-up overall with 322 points.

Before the 2016 season, Rosberg stopped reading the news and studied sleep with a jet-lag doctor as he focused on his family and winning the next event. He altered his racing gloves to improve his starts, removed paint from his helmet to make it 80 g (2.8 oz) lighter that slightly improved his performance, employed a mental trainer to increase his aggression, and spent his spare time go-karting to maintain his ability. Rosberg eschewed Facebook for five months, studied philosophy, meditated to stay concentrated, and received detailed technical input from Mercedes's mechanics at its headquarters in Brackley, England. He worked with his sports psychologist for up to eight hours per week with two hours of mental discipline every two days. Rosberg said he was confident of driving a competitive car and wanted to maintain his form by beating Hamilton more regularly.

Rosberg competing at the 2016 Monaco Grand Prix

He carried over his form from the 2015 season, winning the first four races to lead Hamilton by 43 championship points although Hamilton suffered reliability issues in two of those first four races. Rosberg and Hamilton made high-speed contact at the Spanish Grand Prix after which Hamilton took the championship lead from Rosberg over the next eight races after sub-par results from the former. During the mid-season interval, Mercedes non-executive chairman Niki Lauda paid a special visit to Rosberg's home in Ibiza, to help Rosberg regain his confidence and to bounce back. Rosberg changed his diet to remove sugars from his body and abstained from alcohol. Rosberg mulled over how to further improve his performance; to avoid the strain of starting a diet, he refrained from cycling, losing 1 kg (2.2 lb) of muscle in both his legs. He went on to win in Belgium, Singapore and Japan, and achieved three-second-place finishes in a row to enter the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix leading Hamilton by 12 points.

To win the championship, Rosberg needed to finish no worse than third, even if Hamilton won. He won the WDC by five points with a second-place finish after withstanding Hamilton's attempts to back him into the chasing pack and encourage drivers to pass Rosberg to claim the title for himself. Rosberg became the second son of a former world champion to win the title since Damon Hill replicated his father Graham Hill in 1996. He published a limited-edition book entitled Finally about the 2016 season on 24 December 2016. Overall, Rosberg competed in 206 races: he won 23, achieved 30 pole positions, gained 57 podium finishes, and scored 1594.5 championship points.

Retirement from motor racing (2016- present)

Rosberg, who had signed a two-year contract extension with Mercedes to 2018 in mid-2016, began to contemplate retirement from motor racing when he considered the possibility of a championship win after the 2016 Japanese Grand Prix. He discussed it twice with his wife Vivian before the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and decided to commit to retiring before the race commenced. Afterwards, Rosberg told Vivian and manager Georg Noite that he would retire before telephoning the Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff about it. He did not tell Wolff in person because he was apprehensive about Wolff's reaction. At an FIA Prize Giving Ceremony in Vienna on 2 December 2016, five days after winning the championship, he made public his decision to retire. Rosberg said he had reached the "pinnacle" of his career; he did not want his driving skills to atrophy and wished to spend more time with his young family. He was the first reigning champion to retire from Formula One since Alain Prost in 1993. Williams driver Valtteri Bottas replaced Rosberg at Mercedes.

In retirement, Rosberg's love of engineering and innovation saw him become an eco-entrepreneur by investing in positive change to the environment and society. He used his celebrity status to advance the industry, beginning with a fact-finding visit to Silicon Valley, where he tested and observed the construction of electric and self-autonomous vehicles. In July 2017, he visited the headquarters of the all-electric Formula E racing series, and became fascinated in the e-mobility movement. Rosberg became a long-term investor and shareholder in Formula E in early 2018. Focusing primarily on Europe, Rosberg has invested in multiple start-up technology and e-mobility companies, and had the idea to launch the annual Greentech Festival trade fair, which he did with the entrepreneurs Sven Krüger and Marco Voigt in February 2019 to showcase sustainable technologies from around the world in Berlin. He replaced Frank Thelen as an investor on the German television programme Die Höhle der Löwen ('The Lions' Cave') in late 2019.

Rosberg holding the 2016 Formula One World Drivers' Championship trophy

In October 2017, Rosberg joined Team Rosberg as an adviser for its ADAC GT Masters sports car championship team in 2018. He also joined the management team of the racing driver Robert Kubica that September. Rosberg assisted in Kubica's desire to return to Formula One after a severe 2011 rally accident left the latter with partial movement in his right arm. He reduced his involvement with Kubica in April 2018 to focus on his business career. Since the 2018 season, Rosberg has analysed select Formula One races for Sky Sports F1 in the United Kingdom, RTL in Germany, and Sky Italia in Italy. He impressed viewers for conveying digestible information to them. That same year, Rosberg co-founded the Rosberg Young Drivers Academy with karting mentor Dino Chiesa to scout and support young go-kart drivers. In April 2019, Rosberg declined an offer from the Head of Audi Motorsport Dieter Gass to drive an RS5 DTM as a wild-card entrant in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) because he did not feel fit enough to return to racing.

In late 2020, he established Rosberg X Racing formed on parts of the structure of his father's DTM team to compete in the all-electric SUV off-road racing series Extreme E from the 2021 season on. He entered the series because of its promised racing action and wanted to help combat some of climate change's effects collectively. In 2021 Rosberg X Racing won the inaugural Extreme E constructors' title with Johan Kristoffersson and Molly Taylor as drivers.

Rosberg has a YouTube vlogging channel and hosts the podcast "Beyond Victory" in which he discusses human performance and development with his guests.