Nico Rosberg, born on 27 June 1985, is a retired F1 driver with German and Finnish roots. His career spanned from 2006 to 2016, culminating in the 2016 World Drivers’ Championship while racing with Mercedes. Nico is also the son of the 1982 Formula One World Champion, Keke Rosberg.
His racing career began with competitive go-karting at six years old, leading to victories in the French regional and national championships and then progressing to European and global competitions. By 16, Rosberg advanced to car racing, securing the 2002 Formula BMW ADAC Championship with VIVA Racing. He then competed in the Formula 3 Euro Series with Team Rosberg in 2003 and 2004, followed by clinching the first GP2 Series championship with ART Grand Prix in 2005.
Rosberg’s Formula 1 career began with Williams from 2006 to 2009, where he earned two podiums in 2008. He joined Mercedes in 2010, initially partnering with seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher who also returned to the sport that year after several seasons away.
Rosberg celebrated his first F1 victory at the 2012 Chinese Grand Prix and was teammates with another seven-time world champion, Lewis Hamilton, from 2013 to 2016. During this period, he was runner-up to Hamilton twice before outracing him to win the 2016 championship. That win made Nico and his father Keke the second father-son duo to win the World Drivers’ Championships, following Graham and Damon Hill.
Just five days after securing the 2016 championship, Rosberg announced his retirement from racing. He wanted to spend more time with his young family and didn’t want to repeat a defence of the tile, given how intense the battle for the championship was.
Throughout his career, he entered 206 Grand Prix races, achieved 23 wins, 57 podiums, 30 pole positions, and amassed 1594.5 points. Post-retirement, Rosberg has pursued interests in driver management, television commentary, and environmental campaigns. His achievements in F1 were recognised with a Laureus World Sports Award for Breakthrough of the Year in 2017, the same year he was inducted into the FIA Hall of Fame.
Nico Rosberg Formula One World Championship career
| Nationality | German |
|---|---|
| F1 Career | 2006–2016 |
| Teams | Williams, Mercedes |
| Car number | 6 |
| Entries | 206 (206 starts) |
| Championships | 1 (2016) |
| Wins | 23 |
| Podiums | 57 |
| Career points | 1594.5 |
| Pole positions | 30 |
| Fastest laps | 20 |
| First entry | 2006 Bahrain Grand Prix |
| First win | 2012 Chinese Grand Prix |
| Last win | 2016 Japanese Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix |
