The son of a world champion who was brought up in Monaco, Nico Rosberg always seemed to be destined for the top. A sense of entitlement followed him through the junior ranks, but behind the cocksure attitude and boy-band looks there has always been a smart and very talented racing driver. Now, at the end of his ninth season in Formula One, he has a chance to fulfil his destiny and follow in father Keke's footsteps.
The first thing that strikes you about Rosberg is his intelligence. He's not just intelligent for an F1 driver, but intelligent full stop. Ahead of his championship-winning season in F1's junior series GP2, he was offered a place to read for a degree in aeronautical engineering at Imperial College in London, but turned it down to focus on his racing career. He is capable of speaking fluent German, English, Italian, Spanish and French, meaning he gives concise and smart answers to the media no matter what is thrown his way. But his clean and clinical approach also means it's difficult to discover the true personality behind the carefully chosen words. At times his intelligence makes him appear aloof.
Nico Rosberg's credentials
- Honours: Formula BMW ADAC (2002), Inaugural GP2 championship winner (2005)
- Formula One debut: 2006 Bahrain Grand Prix
- Teams:Williams (2006-2009), Mercedes (2012-)
- Wins:8
- First win: 2012 Chinese Grand Prix
Unlike his title rival and Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton, Rosberg is rarely caught speaking from the heart. He is in full control of his emotions, and when the going gets tough he closes up rather than speaks out. That point was perfectly illustrated at the Belgian Grand Prix when his rivalry with Hamilton peaked and resulted in a collision on track. Rosberg was quite clearly to blame and was booed on the podium after the race. In the paddock he had the world's media bearing down on him, but deflected questions without a blink of an eye.
"As drivers, we are here to entertain and to show the fans a good time, so our duels are always on the limit," he said as a matter of fact. "I regret that Lewis and myself touched, but I see it as a racing incident."
Simple as that.
But as those words were being recorded on the ground floor of the Mercedes motor home, Hamilton was speaking openly to other members of the media on the upper floor. He said Rosberg had admitted to causing the collision on purpose in a post-race team debrief - it was explosive stuff. Back downstairs, however, Rosberg refused to reveal details of the post-race meeting, giving short but polite answers to difficult questions. He'd make a perfect politician.
Away from the glare of the media spotlight, his calm and collected attitude has undoubtedly helped him on-track this year. When the pressure is on in qualifying, Rosberg is capable of delivering a clean lap for pole position and has 10 to his name from 18 races.
At the Canadian Grand Prix, both Mercedes were struck by the same reliability issue at the same time. The problem not only reduced power from the energy recovery system but also led to excess strain on the rear brakes. Hamilton was forced to retire when his brakes overheated, but Rosberg found a way to drive around the problem and nursed his car home to second.
Yet in straight fights with no problems, it's Hamilton who has had the upper hand over Rosberg. Rosberg has just five wins to Hamilton's 10 ahead of the final round and has not yet overtaken Hamilton for position and made the move stick. But the fact that only 17 points divide them after 18 races and both still have a chance of winning the title underlines just how close this season has been. According to Rosberg it was the same 14 years ago when they were team-mates in go-karts and fighting for the Formula A championship. Hamilton beat Rosberg, but once again it was close
"It's amusing because there are a lot of similarities," he said. "Every day there are moments or things that come up where I can smirk and think 'jeez, that's exactly the same as it was 14 years ago'. Both of us have changed also in some ways, most of it for the better. Also, in terms of professionalism, especially, because at that time it was a bit all over the place and now it's more focused. But of course many of the strengths and weaknesses are still the same."
As much as things stay the same, Rosberg will of course be hoping for a different result this time round. He is undoubtedly the underdog, but if an opportunity arises he won't think twice about taking it. As far as he is concerned it's still his destiny.
Laurence Edmondson is deputy editor of ESPNF1
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Laurence Edmondson is deputy editor of ESPNF1 Laurence Edmondson grew up on a Sunday afternoon diet of Ayrton Senna and Nigel Mansell and first stepped in the paddock as a Bridgestone competition finalist in 2005. He worked for ITV-F1 after graduating from university and has been ESPNF1's deputy editor since 2010
