Nico Rosberg: Does Anyone else...

[Rippers]

...REALLY want this guy to sucede and shut his critics up this year, and what do you think he is capable of?

Rosberg JNR I feel has been very unfairly criticised on last years peformance, he had a team mate who didnt want to know he was there (no complaints but it was negative on Rosberg). He has had other drivers laying on very unfair criticisim (Montreal 06). And his car was the worse peforming car Williams has ever made.

Despite this he far from disgraced himself in his rookie year I think he has learnt alot from it. So for various F1 publications to say this is Rosbergs make or break year I think is appaling. Button was also lynched upon after two years, and is now GP winner.

My point is in time Rosberg WILL come good, and if he is disgarded from F1 it will be a big mistake. The guy is everything F1 should be, and IMO will become one of the most loved F1 World Champions.

Maybe im going over the top, but its honestley what I belive will happen. Opinions?

[Osella]

I wouldn't go that far, but... I certainly believe he is a potential GP winner, he's calm enough and also consistent, but perhaps needs a bit too much...ego massaging for Williams.

It's also unfair to compare virtually any driver to Button, he was deservedly lynched and criticised as he was an idiot in 2000 and thought that he just needed to turn up and race and everything would fall in his lap. Flav let him know that was not the case...!
I didn't hear about Nico partying and driving his mates around Hockenheim in a road car and living the 'footballer' lifestyle. As with Button, I'm sure Williams and Head would not have tolerated it if he had!

[Rippers]

I see your point but in comparing with Button I was saying how having two years that are awful in F1 does not make you not good enough, and Button for me is a prime example. As he has bounced back well from his Williams/Briatore days, when his reputation was in tatters.

With Rosberg though he has the double edged sword of his fathers name. Good in getting you drives but with it comes pressure, something i think after 2006 he has already been tested on. 2007 I think we will see the real Nico Rosberg and how his mental strength makes/breaks him...I think will end Alex Wurz F1 career

[Sleeper]

Last year, Autosport ran a feature on the four most likely young drivres to try and push Raikkonen and Alonso off the top off the tree, and Rosberg was one of them (as was Kubica, Kovaleinen and Hamilton), so there are definitely people out there that think he's got talant, I think he's just got to unlock it consistently.

[Hawkmoon]

I think the pressure on Rosberg came about because he started 2006 very well and this set the expectations bar much higher than usual for most rookies.

He tailed off midseason and had a pretty normal rookie season after that. He made mistakes, had a few incidents and struggled with a rubbish car.

I think the analogy with Button is pretty acurate. Button had a rookie season that raised expectations and Button failed to meet those expectations, for whatever reason, for the next three seasons until a he had a breakout 2004.

Rosberg could be headed down the same path. People saw what he did at the start of 2006 and expect him to keep delivering. He didn't deliver for the balance of 2006 and if he again falls short in 2007 I think many will be ready to consign him to the also-ran scrap heap.

Personally, I think Rosberg has to beat Wurz by a reasonable margin in 2007 if he wants to remain in the top teams future plans. Assumimg, of course, that he is in those plans already. If he can't beat a guy who hasn't had a race seat since 2000 (I think) then we can probably right him off.

[ArrowsFA1]

The problem with F1, as with many things now, is that drivers are not given time to develop. Expectations are high immediately, and there are other rookies coming along who are seen as the next big thing.

Fortunately Williams have faith in Nico, and with his first year out of the way and a more competitive (it seems) car this year I expect he'll do well.

[harsha]

i don't think Rosberg can out do Alex Wurz,remember Wurz is a good talent,just didn't get the chances....

[jens]

Agreed that beating Wurz is vital for Rosberg. He was occasionally quick last year, but still a lot of proving needs to be done to call him future champion.

He has got another problem - he is stuck in a midfield-team and it's pretty tough to get into top teams as they all seem to be occupied by all kinds of youngsters. In the next years his best hope might be joining Toyota (in the first half of 2006 there were rumours that he might join already for 2007), although probably to many that doesn't look the most attractive opportunity. But at least some step forward.

[ioan]

The problem with F1, as with many things now, is that drivers are not given time to develop. Expectations are high immediately, and there are other rookies coming along who are seen as the next big thing.

They had time to develop before being signed by an F1 team, or at least that is what I suppose they do in the inferior formulas, develop.
What they need to do in F1 is to work hard, that's all.
They are all talented, bur only few of them are willing and capable to be at 100% for a full season.

[janneppi]

Keke Rosberg once commented about the difference between him and his son, before they entered F1, Nico had raced many times more than Keke and was a experienced racer.
It shouldn't really be a problem, of course pressure is higher in F1, and coming from a top GP2 team to a midfield team wasn't an easy transition.

[ArrowsFA1]

They had time to develop before being signed by an F1 team, or at least that is what I suppose they do in the inferior formulas, develop.
What they need to do in F1 is to work hard, that's all.
They are all talented, bur only few of them are willing and capable to be at 100% for a full season.
You may be underestimating what's required ioan. Everything a driver has achieved on the road to F1 counts for little once they're there. F1 is different to anything they've faced before. They have to prove themselves all over again, and continue developing and improving. That process does not stop the moment they sign their first F1 contract. If it did then Massa would not be being talked of as a potential WDC this year.

Of course winning, for example, the GP2 title as Rosberg and Hamilton have done, helps. It shows they are winners, and are capable of maintaining a consistently high level of performace, but in GP2 they have not been facing the likes of Alonso or Raikkonen at every race. They're also racing fewer and shorter races. More than that, the demands on them outside the cockpit from the team (understanding the car, providing quality feedback, and pushing the team forward) and sponsors (number of fuctions, representing multinational companies) are at an entirely different level to what they will have experienced before reaching F1.

As Lewis Hamilton has said: "I am a rookie, I have not got the first race yet. As I said there is a lot to learn. I need to improve in a lot of areas. I don't think there is a limit, any driver can improve. I think even Michael Schumacher was improving."

If they can meet their own, and others', expectations and demands they they may produce results.

My point about drivers being given time to develop was that in these days of F1 drivers becoming younger and younger, but with fewer race seats being available, the pressure on race rookies is enormous. They're all secure in the knowledge, as are the team owners, that there are many other young drivers waiting in the queue for their seat and if they don't perform immediately they can be replaced.

The time was that drivers spent longer in the lower formulae, more often than not racing in front of potential employers at GP weekends. F1 drivers also used to step back into F2 and compete alongside the rising stars, and so those employers had the opportunity to measure them up against each other. Then the rising star (Jody Schecker for example) might get the chance to race a third 'works' car and prove himself, or race for a small/privateer team (Nelson Piquet) before being snapped up by the likes of Brabham.

Also there weren't the likes of F1 team driver programmes, or manufacturer-run series to provide a ready-made ladder to F1 for favoured drivers

So yes, the likes of Nico Rosberg does need to "work hard" but is that really all? :cool:

[ioan]

F1 is different to anything they've faced before.

Of course there isa difference, but how big? They aren't asked to drive a MotoGP bike, nor a powerboat etc...

I believe that they are up to 99% of their capabilities after the winter testing is over, the rest is just hard work to manage the subtilities of the car and of the tracks, only hard work that's all.



As Lewis Hamilton has said: "I am a rookie, I have not got the first race yet. As I said there is a lot to learn. I need to improve in a lot of areas. I don't think there is a limit, any driver can improve. I think even Michael Schumacher was improving."

So maybe they should get 17 years of F1 driving to get up to those 99.99% and will never reach 100%! So how much time we give them before we can asses their potential? A lifetime maybe?
Do not forget that they get 1 or 2 days of testing (and some even nothing i.e. MS) before the team knows if they are any good.



My point about drivers being given time to develop was that in these days of F1 drivers becoming younger and younger, but with fewer race seats being available, the pressure on race rookies is enormous. They're all secure in the knowledge, as are the team owners, that there are many other young drivers waiting in the queue for their seat and if they don't perform immediately they can be replaced.

No one is asking them to win the WDC in the first season.
They all get time to prove they work hard enough to be useful for their team.


The time was that drivers spent longer in the lower formulae, more often than not racing in front of potential employers at GP weekends. F1 drivers also used to step back into F2 and compete alongside the rising stars, and so those employers had the opportunity to measure them up against each other. Then the rising star (Jody Schecker for example) might get the chance to race a third 'works' car and prove himself, or race for a small/privateer team (Nelson Piquet) before being snapped up by the likes of Brabham.

So let's stop society developement and go back to the nostalgic years.



So yes, the likes of Nico Rosberg does need to "work hard" but is that really all? :cool:

Yes that's really all as far as drivers are concerned, the rest is done by the teams.

[futuretiger9]

Nico has probably had his honeymoon period, and any leeway afforded him by his famous surname has now gone. He will be expected to deliver this year, particularly in view of the impressive testing form shown by the new Williams. Thankfully, the team seems supportive, and he shows signs of taking things in his stride.

One thing is for sure, however. He HAS to outpace Alex Wurz in 2007.

[Hazell B]

After seeing him race twice last year, I became a fan of his.

This season I'm crossing my fingers he just stays on course to start gaining points in 08. If he can get some good places this year I'll be thrilled for him, but I personally don't mind him taking some time to get there at the front.

His team may have other thoughts, of course!

[Rippers]

I think he has the talent but even his attitude and commitment to the cause IMO is vital to F1

[longisland]

IMHO, it might be good for him to be a top team's test driver for one year. Alonso & Massa both have done well after a year of test driving. Massa was considered erratic & accident prone & now people are talking about him contending for this season's WDC.

[futuretiger9]

As a team, Williams are supportive initially, but have demonstrated ruthlessness in the past (Hill, Mansell, Frentzen) when dealing with drivers. Nico can't just sit back and assume that his future with Williams is assured. If they don't think that he is producing the goods, they will take the necessary action.