A brief biography of Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg, including his career history and Formula One statistics
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The son of 1982 Formula One world champion Keke Rosberg, Nico clearly had speed in his genes from the start. He started off his professional motor racing career by winning the Formula BMW ADAC title in 2002, which he followed up with two solid seasons in the Formula 3 Euro Series. However it was in the GP2 feeder series where he really made a name for himself when he saw off Heikki Kovalainen to clinch the 2005 championship.
That victory saw him rewarded with a Grand Prix race seat at Williams alongside Mark Webber for the following season. He stayed with the team for a total of four years but in that entire time only finished on the podium twice (in Melbourne and Singapore in 2008), leaving him restless and looking for opportunities elsewhere.
When Mercedes returned to motor racing in 2010 and came looking for a young German talent to pair up with the legendary Michael Schumacher who has been brought back from retirement, Rosberg was the perfect fit. As the team gradually overtook Red Bull to become the dominant force in Formula One, Rosberg was duly able to claim three podiums in his first season with the team, and in 2012 celebrated his maiden Grand Prix victory in China.
In 2014 Rosberg finished in the top two in all but four races that year. He had six victories the following season and started the 2016 season with four back-to-back wins. If it had been any other time in the sport, that level of sustained success would have surely resulted in a championship. Unfortunately for Nico he was now paired at Mercedes with Lewis Hamilton who was doing even better, frustrating Nico's attempts to claim the title.
Forced into second place in the 2014 and 2015 championships by his implacable team mate, Rosberg has tried everything to get the upper hand over Hamilton only to be thwarted each time. It has sparked a bitter and public feud between the one-time friends rivalling that of Senna/Prost in the 80s. So far the momentum has ended up being on Hamilton's side, but Rosberg is determined not to let his team mate continue to have all the success.
