Nico Rosberg

**Nico Erik Rosberg** (born 27 June 1985) is a German-Finnish former racing driver who won the 2009, 2010 ans 2011 Formula 1.5 World Championship driving for Mercedes and Williams. The only child of Finnish 1982 F1 World Champion Keke Rosberg and his German wife Sina Rosberg, he was raised primarily in the Principality of Monaco.

## Personal Background

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 (F1) 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, 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.

## F1.5 Career

### Williams (2005- 2009)

#### 2005 Season

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.

#### 2006 Season

Bernie Ecclestone, F1'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 F1 technology, and for articulately communicating data to engineers. He was told of the news by his father in advance.

Rosberg was paid £500,000 by Williams and was the first son of a former world champion in F1 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 F1, 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 and podium, finishing third, whilst setting the fastest lap. One week later, at the Malaysian Grand Prix, he achieved a front row start before his engine failed after seven laps. Rosberg went on to take 2 more podiums at the European Grand Prix and British Grand prix through the year.

Rosberg finished the season 9th in the championship, matching teammate Mark Webber in the drivers standings.

#### 2007 Season

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. The season featured many up's and down's for Rosberg but his highlight of the season was his maiden win at the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix.

Rosberg was 5th in the championship with 97 points in 2007.

#### 2008 Season

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 winning at the Australian Grand Prix, making it back to back wins with the final race of 2007. 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;

Rosberg was 6th in the standings for 2008 with 68 points.

#### 2009 Season

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.

During the mid part of the season Rosberg won six race's in a row, whilst also finishing ten of the first 11 race's on the podium. This momentum would be what won Rosberg his first F1.5 drivers championship. Finishing with 116 points to Alonso's 99.5 points in second.

### Mercedes (2010-2012)

#### 2010 Season

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 F1 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 still managed to beat Schumacher though in the championship by 90 points. 2010 saw Rosberg take his second F1.5 championship nine wins over the season and 14 podiums. Rosberg also took 8 pole positions in the season.

#### 2011 Season

Rosberg remained with Mercedes for 2011 and was again joined by Schumacher. Rosberg would take his third consecutive F1.5 drivers title, beating Micheal Schumacher by 63 points. Rosberg became the first driver to win three consecutive titles in Formula 1.5. Rosberg took 5 wins over the season, compared to Schumacher's six, however consistency was key to winning.

#### 2012 Season

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. Niki Lauda began to advise Rosberg.

Rosberg's final year in the sport before going to F1.0 saw him finish runners up in the drivers standings behind Nico Hulkenberg at Force India. He was able to take 3 wins over the season with his final win being the Monaco Grand Prix.