Nico Rosberg

Nico Erik Rosberg, son of Keijo "Keke" Erik Rosberg, is about to have his 100th Grand Prix meeting this weekend in Hungary.

I was about to write my "best wishes" to him in 'his' thread...but I couldn't find one...so, I figured I might as well start it off.

What is very interesting is that his father, Keke, took part in 114 Grand Prix races in his entire Formula One career, winning 5 of them - all for Williams from 1982 to 1985 - as well as a World Championship.

It's interesting in that Nico is approaching that number quickly and he's already about to finish off his 6th season in a few months...but without a win to his name...and no win in sight given the current pecking order of the cars.

Some say Nico is a great talent...while others say he hasn't fared well against quality teammates in their prime, so it's hard to judge. Mark Webber is, seemingly, his only reasonable benchmark and that was way back in his rookie season in a car that was one of the worst ones ever constructed by Williams.

What are people's thoughts on Nico Rosberg?

Regardless, Godspeed to Nico on the occassion of his 100th Grand Prix this weekend!

 

[gethinceri]

Yeah, I had him down as a shot for pole.

 

[Geoffrey Aylesford]

I think he may have the equipment, opportunity and maturity to cause an upset this year.

 

[Johnny Carwash]

Think that Rosberg will be slightly disappointed with 7th today. Sure he would have been confident that after Q2 that he would qualify ahead of both Red Bulls and Romain Grosjean in the Lotus.

 

[ExtremeNinja]

Think that Rosberg will be slightly disappointed with 7th today. Sure he would have been confident that after Q2 that he would qualify ahead of both Red Bulls and Romain Grosjean in the Lotus.

...and his teammate.

 

[Johnny Carwash]

...and his teammate.

How could i forget Michael Schumacher

 

[RasputinLives]

A typical Nico race from my point of view - looks good and mixing it with the leaders at the start and then you lose track of him and look down the order to see where he is and end up asking how the hell did he get down there?

I'm sure he and everyone else will have a handful of excuses for him again though

 

[OnTheLimit]

Give him a top car and he will win you races they said...

Well he has the car he's craved for but he's not looking too hot at the moment. Cracked twice in two qualifying sessions, Abysmal performance at Aus last week and i wouldn't be surprised to see him go backwards again at Malaysia tomorrow

I bought into the hype but not anymore. Cant see him ever winning a race at this rate..never mind championships. Just a poor mans Heidfield, albeit a level below

 

[Il_leone]

Give him a top car and he will win you races they said...

Well he has the car he's craved for but he's not looking too hot at the moment. Cracked twice in two qualifying sessions, Abysmal performance at Aus last week and i wouldn't be surprised to see him go backwards again at Malaysia tomorrow

I bought into the hype but not anymore. Cant see him ever winning a race at this rate..never mind championships. Just a poor mans Heidfield, albeit a level below

A lot of people are making that assessment of Rosberg - he can put the car and finish where it should be given the equipment but he has not quite proven yet he can finish and be in positions where he has no right to be in which seems to separate him from Vettel, Hamilton, Alonso (and Button)

its harsh obviously there are going to be comparisons made with him and Button even Ross Brawn has said if he gets the car to start winning then he will win more races

What is concerning is his previous edge over Schumacher in quali has disappeared..not sure if it is down to the new system or the car just being a bit more oversteer bias to Schumi or could it be that Schumi has improved a lot

Yes unfortunately he is compared to Heidfeld too but not quite as miserable and certainly more spectacular driver

 

[OnTheLimit]

What is concerning is his previous edge over Schumacher in quali has disappeared

No EBD = Advantage lost

Similarly to Vettel last year..Rosberg clearly knew how to make the most of the system and now its gone, both are struggling and have been out qualified twice in two races

 

[ExtremeNinja]

No EBD = Advantage lost

Similarly to Vettel last year..Rosberg clearly knew how to make the most of the system and now its gone, both are struggling and have been out qualified twice in two races

I did think about that and it may partially account. However, Nico thrashed Schumacher in 2010 defore EBD in contrast to Vettel and Webber being pretty much on a par in 2010.

 

[teabagyokel]

I reckon Nico's choking in Q3. Especially considering he's behind Lotuses and Red Bulls.

 

[OnTheLimit]

I did think about that and it may partially account. However, Nico thrashed Schumacher in 2010 defore EBD in contrast to Vettel and Webber being pretty much on a par in 2010.

Bare in mind 2010 was Schumacher's comeback year. Nico was bound to be faster

 

[ExtremeNinja]

Bare in mind 2010 was Schumacher's comeback year. Nico was bound to be faster

Bound to be? Why? I can think of no reason.

 

[OnTheLimit]

Bound to be? Why? I can think of no reason.

Bit of a long shot to expect Schumacher to comeback and beat Rosberg after 4 years out. Add to the fact Schumi was essentially driving a car built for Jenson Button

 

[FB]

Nico was very disappointing today but Michael didn't exactly look like he was going to win the race in the sister car, even taking his travails into account. I'm not convinced by Rosberg but let's see how the bloke performs when we have a dry race.

 

[ExtremeNinja]

It's no longshot at all. Most people were surprised when Scumacher returned and was getting beaten. What makes you believe that the car was made for Jensen Button? It was made for going round an F1 track as fast as possible. Rosberg driving it faster had nothing to do with Jensen.

 

[OnTheLimit]

It's no longshot at all. Most people were surprised when Scumacher returned and was getting beaten. What makes you believe that the car was made for Jensen Button? It was made for going round an F1 track as fast as possible. Rosberg driving it faster had nothing to do with Jensen.

I remember JB stating at the time the car was designed to suit his driving style. One of the main reasons he was so far behind in my view

http://www.worldcarfans.com/110072827638/schumachers-car-designed-for-me---button

It's a tough ask to expect a driver who's 40, even a driver of Schumacher's calibre to comeback after 4 years out and perform anywhere near to his best out of the box.

 

[ExtremeNinja]

It's a tough ask to expect a driver who's 40, even a driver of Schumacher's calibre to comeback after 4 years out and perform anywhere near to his best out of the box.

Well why bother, then? I would certainly expect top level performance from any driver I would employ.

 

[OnTheLimit]

Well why bother, then? I would certainly expect top level performance from any driver I would employ.

Well Schumacher's performing now isnt he?

 

[ExtremeNinja]

Well Schumacher's performing now isnt he?

The jury is still out on that one. I think we'll know better when Rosberg stops under performing. At the moment there is nothing to suggest that another driver wouldn't do a better job in his seat.