Keke Rosberg is a Finnish former racing driver best known for his Formula 1 career, during which he became the 1982 Drivers’ Champion with the Williams team.
Nationality | Finnish |
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Born | Keijo Erik Rosberg 6 December 1948 Solna, Sweden |
Born in Sweden and raised in Finland, Rosberg began his racing career in karting, eventually advancing to Formula Vee in 1972. After securing the Finnish Championship in 1973, he progressed to Formula Super Vee, where he won the German Championship in 1975. Rosberg then moved to the European Formula Two series, competing between 1976 and 1979. At 29, he made his Formula One debut with Theodore Racing at the 1978 South African Grand Prix. Although he struggled to score points during the rest of the 1978 season with both Theodore and ATS, Rosberg achieved a win in the non-championship BRDC International Trophy in only his second Formula One race.
In 1979, Rosberg replaced the retiring James Hunt at Wolf Racing, though his season ended without a classified finish. He joined Fittipaldi Automotive in 1980 alongside Emerson Fittipaldi, where he earned his first Championship points finish and podium on his debut with the team.
Rosberg’s biggest career move came in 1982 when he signed with Williams. Despite securing only one race victory that season at the 1982 Swiss Grand Prix, his consistent podium finishes were enough to help him win the 1982 Drivers’ Championship, making him the first Finnish driver to claim the title. Rosberg’s title defence in 1983 was hindered by Williams’ struggles adapting to the turbo era, though he did win the 1983 Monaco Grand Prix and the final non-championship Race of Champions. He secured more victories for Williams in subsequent years, winning the 1984 Dallas Grand Prix in and the Detroit and Australian Grands Prix in 1985. In 1986, Rosberg moved to McLaren to partner with Alain Prost, but despite competitive drives, he was unable to secure a win that season and retired from Formula 1 at the end of the year.
After Formula One, Rosberg continued to compete in other racing series, winning multiple races in the World Sportscar Championship with Peugeot (1990-1991) and in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (DTM) from 1992 to 1995.
Post-retirement, Rosberg moved into driver management, guiding the careers of notable drivers such as JJ Lehto and Mika Hakkinen. He also managed and coached his son, Nico Rosberg, from his early karting days to his eventual 2016 Drivers’ Championship. That win made Nico and his father Keke the second father-son duo to win the World Drivers’ Championships, following Graham Hill and Damon Hill.
Keke Rosberg Formula One World Championship career
F1 Career | 1978–1986 |
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Teams | Theodore, ATS, Wolf, Fittipaldi, Williams, McLaren |
Engines | Ford, Honda, TAG |
Entries | 128 (114 starts) |
Championships | 1 (1982) |
Wins | 5 |
Podiums | 17 |
Career points | 159.5 |
Pole positions | 5 |
Fastest laps | 3 |
First entry | 1978 South African Grand Prix |
First win | 1982 Swiss Grand Prix |
Last win | 1985 Australian Grand Prix |
Last entry | 1986 Australian Grand Prix |
Keke Rosberg Teammates
10 Teammates | Involvement | First Year | Last Year |
---|---|---|---|
Jochen Mass | 3 | 1978 | |
Emerson Fittipaldi | 14 | 1980 | |
Chico Serra | 15 | 1981 | |
Carlos Reutemann | 2 | 1982 | |
Mario Andretti | 1 | 1982 | |
Derek Daly | 12 | 1982 | |
Jacques Laffite | 31 | 1983 | 1984 |
Jonathan Palmer | 1 | 1983 | |
Nigel Mansell | 16 | 1985 | |
Alain Prost | 16 | 1986 |
Race Wins
Race wins
Win Number | Grand Prix |
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1 | 1982 Swiss Grand Prix |
2 | 1983 Monaco Grand Prix |
3 | 1984 Dallas Grand Prix |
4 | 1985 Detroit Grand Prix |
5 | 1985 Australian Grand Prix |
Complete Formula One results
Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | WDC | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1978 | Theodore Racing Hong Kong | Theodore TR1 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | ARG | BRA | RSA Ret | USW DNPQ | MON DNPQ | BEL DNQ | ESP DNPQ | NC | 0 | |||||||||
ATS Racing Team | ATS HS1 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | SWE 15 | FRA 16 | GBR Ret | ||||||||||||||||
Theodore Racing Hong Kong | Wolf WR3 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | GER 10 | AUT NC | |||||||||||||||||
Wolf WR4 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | NED Ret | ITA DNPQ | ||||||||||||||||||
ATS Racing Team | ATS D1 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | USA Ret | CAN NC | |||||||||||||||||
1979 | Olympus Cameras Wolf Racing | Wolf WR8 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | ARG | BRA | RSA | USW | ESP | BEL | MON | FRA 9 | GER Ret | ITA Ret | USA Ret | NC | 0 | |||||
Wolf WR7 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | GBR Ret | |||||||||||||||||||
Wolf WR9 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | AUT Ret | NED Ret | CAN DNQ | |||||||||||||||||
1980 | Skol Fittipaldi Team | Fittipaldi F7 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | ARG 3 | BRA 9 | RSA Ret | USW Ret | BEL 7 | MON DNQ | FRA Ret | GBR DNQ | 10th | 6 | ||||||||
Fittipaldi F8 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | GER Ret | AUT 16 | NED DNQ | ITA 5 | CAN 9 | USA 10 | ||||||||||||||
1981 | Fittipaldi Automotive | Fittipaldi F8C | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | USW Ret | BRA 9 | ARG Ret | SMR Ret | BEL Ret | MON DNQ | ESP 12 | FRA Ret | GBR Ret | GER DNQ | AUT | NED DNQ | ITA DNQ | CAN DNQ | CPL 10 | NC | 0 | |
1982 | TAG Williams Team | Williams FW07C | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | RSA 5 | BRA DSQ | USW 2 | SMR | 1st | 44 | ||||||||||||
Williams FW08 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | BEL 2 | MON Ret | DET 4 | CAN Ret | NED 3 | GBR Ret | FRA 5 | GER 3 | AUT 2 | SUI 1 | ITA 8 | CPL 5 | ||||||||
1983 | TAG Williams Team | Williams FW08C | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | BRA DSQ | USW Ret | FRA 5 | SMR 4 | MON 1 | BEL 5 | DET 2 | CAN 4 | GBR 11 | GER 10 | AUT 8 | NED Ret | ITA 11 | EUR Ret | 5th | 27 | ||
Williams FW09 | Honda RA163E 1.5 V6 t | RSA 5 | |||||||||||||||||||
1984 | Williams Grand Prix Engineering | Williams FW09 | Honda RA163E 1.5 V6 t | BRA 2 | RSA Ret | BEL 4 † | SMR Ret | FRA 6 | MON 4 ‡ | CAN Ret | DET Ret | DAL 1 | 8th | 20.5 | |||||||
Williams FW09B | Honda RA164E 1.5 V6 t | GBR Ret | GER Ret | AUT Ret | NED 8 † | ITA Ret | EUR Ret | POR Ret | |||||||||||||
1985 | Canon Williams Team | Williams FW10 | Honda RA164E 1.5 V6 t | BRA Ret | POR Ret | SMR Ret | MON 8 | CAN 4 | 3rd | 40 | |||||||||||
Williams FW10 | Honda RA165E 1.5 V6 t | DET 1 | FRA 2 | GBR Ret | GER 12 † | AUT Ret | NED Ret | ITA Ret | BEL 4 | EUR 3 | RSA 2 | AUS 1 | |||||||||
1986 | Marlboro McLaren International | McLaren MP4/2C | TAG TTE PO1 1.5 V6 t | BRA Ret | ESP 4 | SMR 5 † | MON 2 | BEL Ret | CAN 4 | DET Ret | FRA 4 | GBR Ret | GER 5 † | HUN Ret | AUT 9 † | ITA 4 | POR Ret | MEX Ret | AUS Ret | 6th | 22 |
Sources:
- Keke Rosberg. Wikipedia.com