Former GP 2 Series Champion and the son of former Formula One World Champion Keke Rosberg, Nico has a lot to live up to since stepping into the sport.
He clinched an impressive seventh place in his debut Grand Prix, at Bahrain, in the 2006 season for the Williams-Cosworth alliance, announcing his arrival with a loud and clear message.
Driving for his father’s constructor ATR Grand Prix in the GP2 Series, Rosberg outperformed contemporary adversaries Heikki Kovalainen, Nelson Piquet jr. and Scott Speed to clinch an immediate contract with Frank Williams’ Formula One team.
At Bahrain in 2006, he also recorded the fastest lap, becoming the youngest driver to do so in F1 history at a tender age of just 21. He also had to fight his way through the field after losing his nosecone on the very first lap. Later that season, it was revealed that Rosberg would remain contracted with Williams until the end of the 2009 season.
Rosberg suffered a series of setbacks in 2006 after clinching his second set of points at Nurburgring, and ended the season with just 4 points to his credit. It was a disappointing year for Williams and they were determined to look ahead with their prodigy.
The 2007 season was a fresh start as the British constructor adopted Toyota engines and hoped for a better overall performance. Rosberg, with his studious penetration, put in good laps throughout the season to clinch 20 points and 9th place in the standings.
His best-ever drive in a F1 car came during the last race of the season, at Interlagos, in 2007 when he went head-to-head with rookie counterpart Robert Kubica in his BMW. He overtook both the BMW-Sauber cars ahead of his, the other one being Heidfeld. It firmly established the fact that 2008 will be a season to look forward to.
Rosberg will be driving alongside another former driver’s son in Kazuki Nakajima during the 2008 season. The fiery duo will hope to reclaim the legacy of the Williams and bring the constructor back to its winnings after a complete dearth of podium finishes.
