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1982 Formula One world champion Keke Rosberg says he admires his son Nico’s “mental strength” after he joined him in the history books by claiming the 2016 title at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Rosberg Snr has kept a fairly low profile all season but he arrived on Sunday from neighbouring Dubai to celebrate the Mercedes driver’s achievement. The former five-time grand prix winner explains that he did not want to be a distraction for his son on such an important weekend.
“ I think the time has come to take a step back,” Keke Rosberg told reporters after the race. “There was no choice to come here. If I would have been here three days doing nothing, there would not have been a peaceful minute for me.
“We discussed it with Nico and I said ‘Look I can’t come It does not work’. He did not know exactly where I was but he knew I was in Dubai.”
Asked on how he reacted when he saw race leader Lewis Hamilton backing his son up and into the path of rivals behind them, Rosberg Snr added in good humour.
“I took a big sip from my beer and thought ‘oh this is going to get hot’!”
Despite all the potential pit falls and relentless questions about his race-by-race approach, Rosberg never cracked under pressure. His father admits he has been impressed with the newly-crowned champion's steadfastness.
“I don’t know [how he does it]. It’s remarkable. I admire him for his mental strength and his commitment. I don’t know how the others do that but with Nico it’s like 110% and it has nothing to do with the way we went about being an F1 driver, absolutely nothing.
“The last three years, there has been tremendous pressure because you’re fighting for the win every weekend, and fighting for the championship every year, and a DNF hurts you really big time.
“I had a rule when I came into Formula One: you have to win your first race, you have to win Monaco, and you have to win the championship and that what I said to Nico. Now, he can tick all these off and say 'been there and done that'.”
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