Nico Rosberg, son of F1 champion Keke, earned his dues with many seasons spent at an underperforming Williams team. He moved to the Mercedes team for their comeback, making an all-German line-up with Michael Schumacher. Old friend Lewis Hamilton joined and the pair embarked on a bitter fight for the title in 2014, with Rosberg losing out in the final round of the year. It took until 2016 for Rosberg to capture his one and only title, opting to retire just days after securing victory.

F1 biography

Nico Rosberg’s love for motorsport was instilled from an early age. As the son of former F1 racer Keke Rosberg, he had Formula One in his DNA, but being brought up in Monaco also helped spark enthusiasm for the glamorous side of racing. Rosberg’s international background makes him slightly hard to place, with a German mother and Finnish father, plus a lifetime spent in Monaco and five or six languages at the tip of his tongue. However, he races under the German flag in F1.

After time spent karting, Rosberg moved up to the German Formula BMW series in 2002, and followed it up with several of the Formula Three categories. He had a brief test with the Williams F1 team in 2004 but had to wait a couple more years for his big break. In the meantime, he drove for ART Grand Prix in the brand new GP2 series in 2005, winning the series in its first year.

On the strength of his background and results, Rosberg joined the Williams team in 2006, and picked up points in his F1 debut in Bahrain. The car wasn’t particularly competitive but Rosberg’s results were enough for him to remain at the team. In fact, he stayed with Williams until the end of 2009, with precious few highlight finishes. His hard work hadn’t gone unnoticed, however, as the German was signed to the newly-branded Mercedes GP team in 2010.

Partnered with the returning Michael Schumacher, Rosberg managed to hold his own and often outperform the multiple world champion. He had to wait until the Chinese Grand Prix in 2012 before taking his first win, and followed it up with two more in 2013. A strong part of the Mercedes line-up, Rosberg remained when Schumacher retired a second time, and continued to perform well against the incoming Lewis Hamilton.

This partnership continued into 2014, one of only two driver lineups to remain unchanged for the new season. Much was made of their friendship of old, particularly as the car proved to be very competitive and the two found themselves fighting for the championship. Rosberg was the subject of a controversial couple of moves during the year, but acquitted himself well in the final round at Abu Dhabi. Losing the championship with a sluggish and broken car, he still managed to congratulate his teammate on winning, and celebrate with the team as a whole.

For the 2015 season, he remained with Mercedes and had refreshed hunger to search for his first championship win. He couldn't keep up the pace of his teammate again, however, and lost out the championship to Hamilton for the second season in a row. Things looked slightly better for Nico Rosberg during the 2016 season, although it remained a fiercely competitive battle between the pair for the full season. Rosberg managed to win the title at the final round of the season in Abu Dhabi, celebrating with his friends and family after a hard-earned victory.

Just days after winning his first title, Rosberg surprised the F1 world by announcing his retirement from the sport. Admitting how much hard work it had been to get his hands on that trophy and that he just didn't have it in him to repeat the feat in 2017, Nico confirmed he would step down from F1 having achieved his goals.

Learn more about Nico Rosberg with the Pocket F1 Handbook.