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!

 

[landogeorgelewis1]

You could be right, but as a long time admirer of Nico Rosberg it's so frustrating that he hasn't won that gp his talent deserves. . However he could well do a Button and only get better with age i hope.

 

[Slyboogy]

I don't know if the car is worse than last years in terms of pace to the front runners, but last year he was like Kubica getting the car into places it shouldn't be, although he wasn't as consistent the way Kubica was with the Renault, he proved to me that he had talent. He was also beating his team-mate by quite some margin.

Unfortunately my opinion this year has changed back to what it was before, I have not seen him out-perform the car this year apart from in China, he's seems to be less consistent than last year, and sometimes he is nowhere in races, while his team-mate this year seems to be having the better races and performances.

 

[Fenderman]

It would be interesting to know what the dynamics are inside Mercedes. Are there other factors at play? Is what little progress being made on the car favouring Schumi rather than Rosberg. Without knowing anything about the relationships within the team I find it difficult to write Rosberg off. When the car becomes more competitive for both drivers perhaps then we can make a proper assessment. The only other indicator will be whether or not Mercedes retain Nico's services.

 

[ExtremeNinja]

I for one would love to see Nico take a Merc to the WDC next year. I really hope they put a winning car together. It would be nice to see some upset in the order at the front after 2 1/2 years of Red Bull domination.

 

[The Artist.....]

I don't know if the car is worse than last years in terms of pace to the front runners, but last year he was like Kubica getting the car into places it shouldn't be, although he wasn't as consistent the way Kubica was with the Renault, he proved to me that he had talent. He was also beating his team-mate by quite some margin.

Unfortunately my opinion this year has changed back to what it was before, I have not seen him out-perform the car this year apart from in China, he's seems to be less consistent than last year, and sometimes he is nowhere in races, while his team-mate this year seems to be having the better races and performances.

I hate to say this, but I suspect that the Merc last season was better than a lot of people gave it credit for....

Rosberg appeared to be elevating the car to positions it shouldn't be, but this was based on the comparison with Schumacher - who let's face it wasn't up to speed last year. This year, he is up to speed, and Rosberg is no longer appearing to be the Mercedes Messiah! I might be wrong, but that's my take on it anyway! What's my evidence? Well, look at the positions Rosberg finished in - he was consistently finishing about 5th in the races with a few 3rds mixed in. Looking at this year, Rosberg's record is actually very similar, but with the lack of 3rd places, and averaging 6th - 7th.

Schumacher, on the other hand, was consistently finishing 7th - 9th in 2010. This season, he's upped his game and is performing on a par with Rosberg.... Give it one more season, and I suspect that Schumacher will be showing Rosberg who's boss!

 

[teabagyokel]

I utterly, and completely, disagree.

You can see here that both Rosberg and Schumacher have managed 2 fifth places and two sixth places. The big points were "on" for Mercedes in Belgium and Italy, where only one of the cars was wiped out by a HRT, but that could be balanced by Schumacher's retirement from a good position in Monaco.

All of this means Schumacher is in touch with Rosberg in the Championship solely because he was more lucky with Safety Cars in Montreal.

 

[Slyboogy]

I think the artist makes a good point actually, the Mercedes got a few podiums last year, an a front row start this year none of those two. Schumachers now up to speed a bit so we can compare, Rosberg only finished i think it was 3 points ahead of Kubica who's car was just below the Mercedes performance wise.

To say that Scumacher is in touch "solely" because of a safety car in a particular race is like saying Button is ahead of Hanilton s
because of the safety cars in Montreal and because Button has had less punctures. We know that's not the case for either since both drivers have been driving better compared to last year.

 

[KekeTheKing]

the Mercedes got a few podiums last year, an a front row start this year none of those two.

I think we need to remember that the Mercedes this year is actually further back from the Top 6 than it was last year.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, the Merc has no chance of achieving a podium on pure pace this season.

 

[teabagyokel]

I think the artist makes a good point actually, the Mercedes got a few podiums last year, an a front row start this year none of those two. Schumachers now up to speed a bit so we can compare, Rosberg only finished i think it was 3 points ahead of Kubica who's car was just below the Mercedes performance wise.

Rosberg finished 6 points ahead of Kubica, Schumacher 64 points behind.

To say that Scumacher is in touch "solely" because of a safety car in a particular race is like saying Button is ahead of Hanilton because of the safety cars in Montreal and because Button has had less punctures. We know that's not the case for either since both drivers have been driving better compared to last year.

The lower down the field you get, the more a battle is decided by who takes advantage of the big points available. That 4th place for Schumacher in Canada was an exceptional result, but obviously the 12 points on offer matters significantly when the two spend most of the season fighting for 6 and 4 points.

I think we need to remember that the Mercedes this year is actually further back from the Top 6 than it was last year.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, the Merc has no chance of achieving a podium on pure pace this season.

That has to be remembered too, and remember that the 70 point margin of Rosberg's victory last year is notwithstanding his blameless elimination from a winning position in Korea.

 

[RayInTorontoCanada]

... the Mercedes this year is actually further back from the Top 6 than it was last year.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, the Merc has no chance of achieving a podium...

Exactly.

If you look at Nico 2010 v Nico 2011 both in terms of his Points as well as against Schumacher you'll note the following:

A. Nico's "big points" in 2010 came as a result of unusual circumstances and some of the Top Drivers making mistakes. Namely:

1. McLarens and Ferraris bet the wrong way on rain in Malyasial Q1 and, as a result, qualified well, well down the field.

Result: Podium for Nico.

2. Errors from Alonso (China; jumped the lights) and Vettel (Silverstone; first lap 'issues') vacated a Podium place each.

Result: 2 Podiums for Nico.

This year, the Top 6 cars have been quaifying 'in position' (by and large) and the Top drivers aren't making the types of mistakes they did last year (if any). Vettel and Alonso in particular. They've been very 'consistent', including the likes of Button.

B. Schumacher.

Nico "made Hay whilst the Sun was Shining" while Schumacher was using the majority of the Spring and Summer of his first year back as a "tune up" (for use of a better word or two) in a car whose design he had no input in really.

This "tune up" phase allowed Mercedes to focus more on the faster driver (faster as in Q2, Q3) to maximize race day opportunities for the team.

In 2011, however, Schumacher's driving a car that he had more input in...and he's also out of his "tune up" phase. Ergo he's more 'competitive' and this means the team can focus on him more than they were last year and, possibly, slighty (slightly) less on Nico.

I'm not saying they're not focussing on Nico. I'm saying that they're doing what teams naturally do when they have two competitive drivers. (One example is McLaren in 2008/9 v McLaren in 2007 or 2010/11. Kovy was less competitive, so the focused on Lewis more...whereas Nando and Jenson were more competitive so they divided the focus more equally. It's perfectly natural.

Lastly, EJ said that "Mercedes exist for Schumacher" and that the team would always naturally gravitate emotionally towards the multipe world champion. So with Schuey getting more and more competitive, Nico's getting less attention?

It's a possiblilty.

In the end, Nico will come around. He contiues to be the faster driver in qually and he legitimately took the lead of the Belgian GP from 5th on the grid without DRS. It's a shame that Liuzzi wiped him out at Monza where the Mercedes was like a rocket in a straight line but thems the breaks.

I'm sure he'll bounce back but he's got a real fight on his hands now.

 

[RasputinLives]

Any news on Nico signing a new contract for Merc yet? I am right in thinking it runs out at the end of this year am I not?

 

[RayInTorontoCanada]

I could be wrong, Rasputin, but I think he did a 3 year deal.

Usually it's a 2+1 with the option on the 3rd year going both ways.

I suspect Nico would have taken up the option as he has nowhere else to go (really) and they've signed Bell, Willis and Costa...whilst I can't see Mercedes not taking up the option either because he's usually the higher up the grid and is still ahead of his teammate on points at the moment.

So, I suspect, It's SCH-ROS at Mercedes GP again next year. Unless, as I said, i'm mistaken.

Perhaps di Resta or Hulkenberg could be in the reckoning in 2013 because it's a big shake up year with Massa, Webber, Schumacher/Rosberg and (I believe) Hamilton all up for contract renewals.

 

[Slyboogy]

I think we need to remember that the Mercedes this year is actually further back from the Top 6 than it was last year.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, the Merc has no chance of achieving a podium on pure pace this season.

That is what I meant, and The Artist posts covered that

 

[RasputinLives]

Ya know half way through the race I was thinking to myself that Nico was having a good drive dicing it out with Mclarens and Ferrari's and that I'd eat some humble pie and post on his thread after the race and say well done......then he hit reverse or something and ended up 8th.

All to familiar a story I'm afriad hence why I'm a Nico-sceptic. To me he is in the mould of Jarno Truli and I think thats both a complement and an insult quite frankly.

 

[RayInTorontoCanada]

Well, I don't think he's like Jarno at all.

I think Nico gave it everything running with the Big Boys again and he basically ran out of tyres and was running on fumes.

Sure, he got pipped by Alguersauri. But if I were needing a driver in my team i'd chose Nico over Alguersauri any day of the week.

 

[RasputinLives]

Or he flat spotted his tyres when not even under pressure and had to have an early stop. Depends how you look at it.

Just seems to happen too often for my liking. There he is in first half of the race dicing it with the guys up front getting plaudits and looking exciting - then after eventually losing out to them as he was inevitable going to do as they were quicker you glance back down the field to find where he is and find he's been jumped by the people behind him.

Always seems to fade. Maybe its his race fitness I don't know.

I'd love to see the stats on how often his finishing position was higher up the field than his qualifying position. I know he managed it in Japan last week but he did start 24th.

 

[ExtremeNinja]

Or he flat spotted his tyres when not even under pressure and had to have an early stop. Depends how you look at it.

Just seems to happen too often for my liking. There he is in first half of the race dicing it with the guys up front getting plaudits and looking exciting - then after eventually losing out to them as he was inevitable going to do as they were quicker you glance back down the field to find where he is and find he's been jumped by the people behind him.

Always seems to fade. Maybe its his race fitness I don't know.

I'd love to see the stats on how often his finishing position was higher up the field than his qualifying position. I know he managed it in Japan last week but he did start 24th.

Rosberg is driving a Mercedes. The Mercedes natural finishing position should be 7th or 8th. Over a race distance there are 6 cars that are all superior and are all being driven by world class drivers. 2 double world champions, 2 single world champions and two nearly-men. Nico is out-qualifying some of these drivers on a regular basis, not to mention his 7 time world champion team-mate. It is entirely to be expected that Nico, in his Mercedes would go backwards in the race as he just hasn't got the machinery to sustain the fight. This should be a testament to his great qualifying speed, not an indication of a lack of race-craft.

 

[Bill Boddy]

The Mercedes has been the fourth fastest car for pretty well the whole season. So Rosberg should be finishing sixth or seventh. So far he has had four finishes lower than that and five higher. This does not include races where one or more of the drivers above him has not finished, but there are some but I haven't the time at the moment.

So the initial impression is that Rosberg has done very slightly less well than he should, but it is marginal. Probably not the performance of a future WDC but worth holding on to.

 

[RasputinLives]

Rosberg is driving a Mercedes. The Mercedes natural finishing position should be 7th or 8th. Over a race distance there are 6 cars that are all superior and are all being driven by world class drivers. 2 double world champions, 2 single world champions and two nearly-men. Nico is out-qualifying some of these drivers on a regular basis, not to mention his 7 time world champion team-mate. It is entirely to be expected that Nico, in his Mercedes would go backwards in the race as he just hasn't got the machinery to sustain the fight. This should be a testament to his great qualifying speed, not an indication of a lack of race-craft.

So just like Jarno Trulli like I said then? Great Qualifier - backwards in the race. Like I said a compliment and an insult all in one.

 

[Slyboogy]

Schumacher has achieved the highest scoring position out of the two, both have achieved 6th and 7th twice. It's not the same season as last, it is quite an anonymous season for Rosberg, while last year he was getting himself noticed.

But Ras', you could argue that he was fighting with the top guys and in doing so he was minimal on fuel and had to give in with the battle with Alguersuari. But you then you can also say that Alguersuari was catching him because Rosberg was on very old tyres