Nico Rosberg | The German drivers career profile and stats

Nico Rosberg

Team: Mercedes GP
F1 Debut: 2006 - Bahrain Grand Prix

Nico Rosberg's early career was undoubtedly helped by his famous surname, but Nico has emerged from his father's shadow and has now proven himself to be worthy of a place in one of F1's leading teams.

Nico started his career racing Karts in the same McLaren Mercedes sponsored team as Lewis Hamilton. The two were very equal so it's hard to draw comparisons, but Nico moved up into Formula BMW whilst Lewis went to Formula Renault.

Rosberg won the Formula BMW and GP2 championships before debuting with Williams in 2006. He amazingly set the fastest lap in his very first F1 race, and also scored points on debut, but his first year was littered with the typical mistakes of any rookie.

Nico Rosberg has been with Williams ever since but has largely been unable to capitalise on his talent. He has been caught in the team's slide towards obscurity and has never had a car capable of challenging for victories.

It is perhaps ironic that Rosberg's worst year with Williams, 2008, was also the year that he had his best chance of sneaking a win. Nico had qualified eighth on the bumpy Singapore street circuit and finished the race in second place despite a crippling drive-through penalty. Had the cards fallen his way he could have taken a well deserved victory.

Rosberg's consistency was unmatched in 2009 and he scored points in all but six races. He finished seventh in the championship standings despite not managing a single podium, and his solid drives in an inconsistent Williams earned him a seat with the new Mercedes factory team.

The impact of racing against Michael Schumacher will be interesting for Nico. It ruined Eddie Irvine and Rubens Barrichello and will undoubtedly be the biggest test of his career. If Rosberg beats Schumacher he will be a hero, but if he loses badly it could damage his value as a potential team leader.

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