Nico Rosberg

[EuroTroll]

Hey!

Just wondering what the forumers' current opinion/rating of Nico is..

I mean, here's a guy who made the most memorable GP debut I have ever seen! (And I've been following F1 since 1990, so that includes Schumacher's and Hamilton's.) In his debut race in the Bahrain GP of 2006, the man got the fastest lap of the race for Christ's sake, and based on lap-to-lap analysis was clearly the fastest driver out there. Considerably faster than his seasoned (and fast!) team-mate Webber (even though Webber finished one place higher, due to Rosberg's first corner incident with Heidfeld).

And yet, after that first glimmer of greatness, we've seen little more of Nico.. In the current season, he seems to be the Free Practice Man, who can't convert his speed to a meaningful race result.

And last season he was pushed quite hard by Nakajima...

After his debut race in 2006, I was sure this guy was going to be a real star. Much better than his father Keke (who, let's face it, was Division 2, and only won the WDC because of Villeneuve's death and Pironi's horrible accident, in addition to it being a very strange season generally).

Now, I'm not so sure...

Has Nico's Divine Spark died? Or was it all just an illusion in the first place, brought upon by circumstances and the superiority of the Cosworth engine early in 2006?

[Dzeidzei]

Much better than his father Keke (who, let's face it, was Division 2, and only won the WDC because of Villeneuve's death and Pironi's horrible accident, in addition to it being a very strange season generally).



I have to comment on this. Firstly, I would never rate any wdc a Division 2 driver. Winning the championship means that youre the best driver of that year. I´d give even Jenson that recognition, should be win it this year.

And secondly, there might be things to Keke you dont know. There once was an interesting article where they followed him in one Adeleide corner. His apex speed was way faster than anyone else. A camera mounted to the wall showed him sliding his Williams within one inch of the wall lap after lap.

Maybe Keke wasn´t Senna, maybe ´82 was a strange year, but he was never a Div2 driver. No wdc is.

And Nico had a nice comment of his dad: Keke wouldnt know how to drive a modern F1 car. Too many buttons (not Jensons) and controls. And this is a fact that every Lewis fan so painfully knows :)

[EuroTroll]

Maybe Keke wasn´t Senna, maybe ´82 was a strange year, but he was never a Div2 driver. No wdc is.

I disagree very strongly with this. There are plenty of WDCs in F1 history who were Division 2! Damon Hill is the latest example... (even though I know all the Brits will hate me now.. :p : )

But no matter. ;) This isn't about that! ;)

This is about Nico! ;)

[Ranger]

Hey!

Just wondering what the forumers' current opinion/rating of Nico is..

I mean, here's a guy who made the most memorable GP debut I have ever seen! (And I've been following F1 since 1990, so that includes Schumacher's and Hamilton's.) In his debut race in the Bahrain GP of 2006, the man got the fastest lap of the race for Christ's sake, and based on lap-to-lap analysis was clearly the fastest driver out there. Considerably faster than his seasoned (and fast!) team-mate Webber (even though Webber finished one place higher, due to Rosberg's first corner incident with Heidfeld).

And yet, after that first glimmer of greatness, we've seen little more of Nico.. In the current season, he seems to be the Free Practice Man, who can't convert his speed to a meaningful race result.

And last season he was pushed quite hard by Nakajima...

After his debut race in 2006, I was sure this guy was going to be a real star. Much better than his father Keke (who, let's face it, was Division 2, and only won the WDC because of Villeneuve's death and Pironi's horrible accident, in addition to it being a very strange season generally).

Now, I'm not so sure...

Has Nico's Divine Spark died? Or was it all just an illusion in the first place, brought upon by circumstances and the superiority of the Cosworth engine early in 2006?

In 2006 he was good for the first two races, and was consistently slower and slower than Webber for the rest of the season thereafter, ending acrimoniously by crashing into the back of him at Brazil on lap 1.

To me this season is the only one we can draw comparison from, as he did not improve at all during the season, and his only team-mates thereafter provide a meaningless comparison because they had/will never amount to anything.

On top of that, Rosberg has never scored a single point in wet weather.

So it is hard to guage how good he really is.

[ShiftingGears]

I have to comment on this. Firstly, I would never rate any wdc a Division 2 driver. Winning the championship means that youre the best driver of that year. I´d give even Jenson that recognition, should be win it this year.

And secondly, there might be things to Keke you dont know. There once was an interesting article where they followed him in one Adeleide corner. His apex speed was way faster than anyone else. A camera mounted to the wall showed him sliding his Williams within one inch of the wall lap after lap.

Maybe Keke wasn´t Senna, maybe ´82 was a strange year, but he was never a Div2 driver. No wdc is.

And Nico had a nice comment of his dad: Keke wouldnt know how to drive a modern F1 car. Too many buttons (not Jensons) and controls. And this is a fact that every Lewis fan so painfully knows :)

Keke was quite spectacular.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8a0eZvfwEp8
Not to mention Long Beach '83.

I am disappointed that Williams cannot convert his good times in practice sessions into results in quali and the races.

[EuroTroll]

Keke was quite spectacular.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8a0eZvfwEp8
Not to mention Long Beach '83.

Yeah. De Cesaris was quite spectacular too. :)


I am disappointed that Williams cannot convert his good times in practice sessions into results in quali and the races.

Williams can't or Nico can't? Ah, that is the question. ;)

[ShiftingGears]

Yeah. De Cesaris was quite spectacular too. :)

Like Yuji Ide? ;)


Williams can't or Nico can't? Ah, that is the question. ;)

I'd imagine both, to an extent. Rosberg hasn't had a decent teammate since Webber, so we can't really judge his true pace.

[BDunnell]

I have to comment on this. Firstly, I would never rate any wdc a Division 2 driver. Winning the championship means that youre the best driver of that year. I´d give even Jenson that recognition, should be win it this year.

And secondly, there might be things to Keke you dont know. There once was an interesting article where they followed him in one Adeleide corner. His apex speed was way faster than anyone else. A camera mounted to the wall showed him sliding his Williams within one inch of the wall lap after lap.

Maybe Keke wasn´t Senna, maybe ´82 was a strange year, but he was never a Div2 driver. No wdc is.

And Nico had a nice comment of his dad: Keke wouldnt know how to drive a modern F1 car. Too many buttons (not Jensons) and controls. And this is a fact that every Lewis fan so painfully knows :)

I agree broadly, though it is certainly possible for a champion not to have been the best driver in that particular season. Nonetheless, being champion is what counts, and no-one should doubt the magnitude of this achievement, no matter what the circumstances were. I have a strong dislike of the phrase 'an undeserving champion', because it ignores the simple fact that, for whatever reason, their competitors didn't get the job done over the course of the season. And that, after all, is what matters.

[EuroTroll]

I agree broadly, though it is certainly possible for a champion not to have been the best driver in that particular season. Nonetheless, being champion is what counts, and no-one should doubt the magnitude of this achievement, no matter what the circumstances were. I have a strong dislike of the phrase 'an undeserving champion', because it ignores the simple fact that, for whatever reason, their competitors didn't get the job done over the course of the season. And that, after all, is what matters.

Yes, indeedio. ;) Keke was champion, Damon was champion, Nigel was champion. Heck, Nelson Sr. was champion three times! That's all fine. ;)

This thread is not about "History and Nostalgia" though. As it's about an active driver. ;) Nico be his name. (Of Rosberg fame.) Driving F1 cars be his game.

Can we please get back to him? :)

[BDunnell]

Yes, and apologies for going a bit off-topic — I just wanted to respond to the bit about Keke.

I too have been a bit perplexed by Nico, but how much of his performance is down to the car not being quite up to scratch is difficult to gauge. I'm sure he is a potential race-winner, but will it happen in a Williams? If it is to, surely this somewhat topsy-turvy 2009 is his best chance.

[pino]

Nico ? great talent and a very nice person too, wish him all the best... even a seat at Ferrari in the future :up: :p :

[jens]

Nico Rosberg. Well, what can I say? His debut season in 2006 was quite inconsistent. At times he was really quick, at times was nowhere and making mistakes. An impression that may exist now too. But what I have to mention is that IMO Nico's 2007 season was really impressive. In dry conditions he was consistently challenging for points and rarely made any mistakes. At the moment it looks like Nico's main problem is tyre management (also in rain/changing conditions) over longer stints, especially with those very vulnerable softer slick tyres we have in '09. Back in 07 we had B'stone control tyres and the compounds were harder, and I think that's why Nico managed to really excel. Now he has to adapt to the new rules and situation. Over one lap in qualifying trim I rate Nico really highly, he may well be one of the fastest drivers in that category. I also think that he needs a new and quick, also preferably experienced team-mate to really test Nico and enable him to improve. Maybe Williams is struggling with setups at the moment - they have, after all, quite an inexperienced driver line-up (test driver is a total rookie, after all).

Keke, however, was IMO a great driver, one of the top drivers in his prime, especially fantastic on street circuits. The problem was that the Williamses he drove were never really top-notch (maybe except the 1985 version), which really didn't enable him to win many races. Sure enough his 1982 WDC title goes into the history as one of the luckiest titles of all times (maybe the luckiest of all), but I think he was driving really well that year, because the car wasn't the best one either. Keke was the only non-turbo to consistently harass turbo drivers over the year on faster circuits. The 1983-1984 Williamses were absolutely mediocre, it was Rosberg's brilliance that made them look half-decent. Team-mate Laffite, once a title contender (1981), was nowhere compared to Keke most of the time. The 1986 season in McLaren went a bit bust though, which was alas partly his fault too as he didn't race as strategically as Prost, burning fuel early on and struggling later in the races to make it even to the finish.

Back to Nico Rosberg... :p : Let's talk about another important issue. 2009 is a very important year regarding his future. I think he has to really considering leaving Williams (despite all the promise, he won't become any kind of top contender in that team) and also try to impress other teams with his performances. He rejected McLaren back in 2007, but I think if a similar possibility reopens, he should make that move. If he can't get to McLaren, then which other teams can be taken into consideration? BMW? Toyota? Even Brawn? The career-choice made during 2009 will have a major effect on Nico's F1 future and how will the rest of his career pan out.

[Valve Bounce]

Let's look at the results. When Nico has scored podiums and a couple of wins later this year, come back here and let's talk.

[Sonic]

Nico is my fave current driver so excuse this slightly biased opinion ;-) Nico has shown in every practise this year just how fast he is but he is suffering with a car that seems to vary so much in speed not just from one track to the next but one hour to the next. Look at sepang - no where in quali but different race day conditions and bosh balistic. On the down side his pace is pants in the wet and with mac et all catching up his chance at a win may already be gone.

[aryan]

Williams can't or Nico can't? Ah, that is the question. ;)


Exactly, and I think it's mostly down to Nico.

I would put him down where I put Heikki. Fast over one lap, occasionally fast but inconsistent in races, and lacking race craft.

I think Williams is suffering hugely due to its driver lineup.

[UltimateDanGTR]

Nico is my fave current driver so excuse this slightly biased opinion ;-) Nico has shown in every practise this year just how fast he is but he is suffering with a car that seems to vary so much in speed not just from one track to the next but one hour to the next. Look at sepang - no where in quali but different race day conditions and bosh balistic. On the down side his pace is pants in the wet and with mac et all catching up his chance at a win may already be gone.

I agree. His car varies too much, but when he's on it he is superb, look at first part of Malaysia: was blindingly quick and was leading, only lost out due to rain and bad timing.


this guy can be brilliant given the car. I think he is a very talented guy.

[F1boat]

IMO he is very talented, but sadly, Williams are in decline since 2005, so he can't do nothing...

[stevie_gerrard]

He is a talented driver, has the car hooked up for practice, but can;t sem to translate that into race pace, which is a shame considering he is probably overachieving with that car.