Nico Rosberg: A future F1 champion?

Nico Rosberg is in a super-relaxed mood as we walk through Mercedes-Benz World at Brooklands, where the German is in attendance for a promotional event with Mercedes sponsor Monster Energy.

It is his last day of work in 2011, it is the eve of Mercedes Christmas party, and since the season ended he has been enjoying some down time.

In fact, he has been taking it very easily. He confesses to having done no exercise since the season finished - and to actually having relished the freedom that comes from not needing to undertake the punishing fitness regime that is now part-and-parcel of life as a grand prix driver.

But there is more to Rosberg's demeanour than simply some post-work exuberance. For although the 2011 campaign fell far short of the high-expectations the team had heading into the year, there is now a genuine buzz about its future potential.

A ramping up of staff, a reshuffling of resources and the arrival of men like Aldo Costa and Geoff Willis are signs of how big the intent is from team chiefs that Mercedes will do all it can to win in F1.

And, with Rosberg having elected to commit his future to the team, he is clearly buying into the dream.

Here are Rosberg's thought in his own words...

REFLECTING ON 2011

To understand why Mercedes is so upbeat about the future, it is important to look back on the lessons that came from the 2011 season.

When the team arrived for the first race in Australia, it was full of excitement about its car - following an upgrade package that had helped the outfit top the times at the final pre-season test.

Yet that optimism quickly evaporated as the reality of its competitive situation became clear in Melbourne.

Optimism at Mercedes was high following pre-season testing © LAT

Q. When you look back on 2011, it wasn't the best of seasons but it also wasn't a total disaster. Where do you think it fits between those two extremes?

Nico Rosberg: Well, it was far from fantastic, wasn't it? There are always two rankings - the personal ranking, for which I'm pretty pleased. I'm pleased with my personal season, and the best comparison for a personal season is your team-mate and things like that. From that point of view I'm pleased. I can do better and I will do better.

But also it was a difficult season. The car was very up and down, and we are all up and down during the season which made it a bit difficult.

And then, in terms of the absolute results, of course we were far from where we wanted to be. Again, we all learned a lot.

There were also massive steps during the year with the tyres being completely different, so there was a lot to learn there because that changed so many things - even in the way you read a race and things like that. It had a much bigger effect than I would have thought. It was not only the way you drove - it was fuel saving, everything - a huge impact. And still towards the end of the year we were learning a lot, which was interesting.

Q. The pre-season build up had delivered some conflicting signs - as the early stages did not look good but the final Barcelona test was very promising...

NR: Yeah, we thought we were just behind Red Bull...

Q. I remember in a pre-Australia GP press conference, you and Michael [Schumacher] were full of confidence...

NR: Yeah, isn't that weird? And then we were nowhere. It was so weird. Very strange.

Q. Did you know in those first few races that the car wasn't up to it, or were you still a little unsure?

NR: No, we were so far off we knew we were not where we were supposed to be.

Q. So you knew in Australia?

NR: Yeah. When you are so far off you do, and we were miles off.

Rosberg walks back to his pits in Australia © LAT

Q. And does it hurt when so early in the season it's like that?

NR: Definitely, yeah. It is a bit of a hit. Expectation was very high and then you realise, 'wow, we are nowhere'. And then you know that you're not going to be able to catch that up during the season.

Q. But then you led in China...

NR: Yeah, and then all of a sudden comes China where I had the opportunity to win with pure merit. And, with a bit of luck, I would have won. So there the hopes were up again, although we could still see that we were not quick enough. We just got everything right in China. So things were much more positive there, and then it went back down again and up again. It was all over the place really.

Q. How do you keep your focus when that is happening?

NR: I just concentrate on what I am doing. Every time I am out there, I get the best out of it. I don't think too much about the big picture, I don't have problems with motivation or things like that. I am always motivated to do the best possible job and that is not too much of an issue.

Q. As a driver do you go into a race thinking that this could be the one?

NR: I am always optimistic, yeah.

Q. Is that what drives you on?

NR: No, what drives me on is the challenge of getting the best out of it, and the push to get the best out of it.

Q. At what stage did the team realise that it wasn't happening? Were they accepting it as early as you?

NR: Not really, no. The team, as everybody else, as us [drivers] too, were convinced there was more in it and that we were just not getting the most out of it. That is true partly, but generally the base performance wasn't quick enough. But then again, you never really know either - because we had a few issues, then we started to play catch-up and then everybody else is pushing on with development and we were catching up. There were many things like that that threw us behind. We had so many issues that didn't go to plan.

Q. Did all that go back to the weird pre-season situation, in that you were chasing yourselves to work out what happened?

NR: Part of it yes, but no - it was more that we had some more general problems. Like the exhausts being in a different position to the fast guys, and that put some questions up. Was it really the right thing to do? So then we had to change that. The cooling of the car as well, these are just some examples of the issues that we had.

RACING WITH MICHAEL

Just as Jenson Button has silenced his doubters by overshadowing his more rated team-mate at McLaren, so Rosberg has raised some eyebrows by being the highest scoring man at Mercedes against Schumacher.

That feat is all the more impressive considering that Schumacher raised his game considerably this year - and delivered some very strong race performance over the latter half of the campaign.

Q. How much do you and Michael bounce stuff off each other?

NR: A lot. A lot.

Q. So how much do you take from him?

NR: A lot, but it goes both ways. The technical part is something that I am really interested in, and I put a lot of effort into it. And Michael is very strong there. So, we definitely push each other also. Or help each go forward - not always purposefully, but he finds something, then I find something, and it goes up and and up and up.

Q. Michael is renowned as being fiercely competitive and not giving an inch. Is he really that straightforward to work with?

NR: Yes, very straightforward. But then also, it is down to me to find everything and see what is going on. And everything is open, so that is okay.

Q. But I remember the pre-Australian GP Mercedes press conference where Michael was asked if he would be frustrated if after all the efforts the team had made, it would be you who came out on top. He replied, 'That won't happen', which I thought was quite an interesting insight into his self-belief...

NR: I didn't notice....

Q. In the second half of the season, Michael had an engineering reshuffle with Jock Clear and Peter Bonnington - and those inside the team have suggested they made a great trio of hugely competitive people - ready to fight hard and dig deep...

NR: No, that's not true. They did a good job engineering wise, but nothing else.

Q. When Jenson Button went to McLaren, people said he was going to get destroyed by Lewis Hamilton, and that hasn't happened. When you were lined up alongside Michael, people said that he was going to be the number one and you would be nowhere. So it is a pretty mega achievement, isn't it, to have come out on top after two years?

NR: I am pleased with how it has ended up with Michael. Very pleased.

Rosberg and Schumacher have equal billing at Mercedes © LAT

Q. But we are talking about Michael Schumacher, a seven-time world champion. It must feel super sweet?

NR: Yeah, but I don't think about that much. I just see him as another racing driver that I have to beat. I don't think of him as a seven-time world champion or something. It is not too different - and I am not happier now than when I beat [Alexander] Wurz, or someone like that. I am just pleased that I have managed to be ahead of my team-mate for two years and I hope I can continue to do so.

Q. Do you feel your stock is higher now than when you joined Mercedes?

NR: Sure it has not done my career any harm to beat the best of all time two years in a row!

Q. Ross Brawn told AUTOSPORT in Brazil that he has no doubts that if you get the car you will be able to win races, and if you can win several races then that is world title territory...

NR: Well, they've just signed me up for a long-term deal in the hope that I can win them races and championships! So I would hope that they don't doubt that.

BUILDING FOUNDATIONS FOR THE FUTURE

The disappointing form of the W02 delivered a realisation at Mercedes that it would need to do things differently in the future it was going to succeed.

With his contract up for renewal, Rosberg was keen to get some signs of those plans over the course of 2011 too - which was duly delivered as the team upped its investment and staffing levels to get itself into the position it thinks it needs to be in to take on outfits like Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari.

Rosberg says he is now in no doubt about the outcome of Mercedes' efforts - the only question is how soon the results will happen.

Q. When we spoke before this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed, you talked about the fact that you wanted some message from the team about the future - that they had what was needed to make a winning car. Were there big frustrations from you, that you had come to this team with high hopes and the first win hadn't happened?

NR: Frustration, no. But I was a bit concerned with my position, because we were not going forwards. But then, through this year, it has been clear that this team is going to do what it takes to win. And that has been a nice experience, and a new experience for me.

At Williams, although it is not great to go back to that, we just had what we had. Here, in the first year, it was clear now that the team is not able to win as it stands. So now to be a part of this big push, and 'do what it takes' attitude, has been a great experience. You can just see the power behind the whole thing. It is going to happen, it is just a question of when. That is cool!

Rosberg says it is a dream to win for Mercedes © LAT

Q. Was there a moment when the team answered your concerns then?

NR: It was gradual. I was following up all the time on the details, and it is just the push through the season now - with the amount of new people that have joined the team. And the amount of strong people that have joined the team and getting a feel for what is going on in the factory also, with the reorganising and the influence of the new people. The big things are happening.

And if you think where we are - already where we are, if we had reduced the mistakes a little, then we would have been pretty good. And now with all the improvements we have in the factory it is going in the right direction.

Q. So it was pretty much a no-brainer for you to extend your contract then?

NR: No-brainer, no. I considered it well and, anyway for me, my dream is to win with a Silver Arrow. And in this team here, I have the opportunity of helping to take it there. That is a fantastic position to be in, so I was hoping that I would be able to stay here, and now, with what they have done through the year, it has made me very comfortable and confident in my decision. That is why I want to stay here and just make it happen here.

Q. Even with no developments in the second half of the season, the car was still improving as the team understood it more...

NR: Yes - even though the development completely stopped, we were moving forward. I think with everything that is not pure car performance we are on a very high level, because we have had to get out everything we can. So once our car gets better, we are going to be very, very impressive because in terms of strategy and things like that the whole team works extremely well.

Slick worked established Mercedes as the fastest team in the pit stops in 2011 © LAT

Q. And in pitstops you were quickest over the whole season...

NR: Yes, that is a good example. They were the quickest and even in terms of consistency of getting the most out of what we have, we are on a very, very high level. Our engineering team and everything else are right up there - so there are a lot of things that are working really well.

Q. Isn't it better to have that side sorted for when the car is ready to win then, than the other way around?

NR: No, it is better to have a fast car. Massively! As we saw from another team last year [in 2010], they had a massively quick car but everything else was wrong. And they still managed to do well.

Q. Are you impatient for that win?

NR: Impatient? No, I am not impatient. But it would be a great thing if it happened. It would be great fun, and a great experience.

Q. People say when you get that first win it changes you and make you a different person. Do you think that will happen?

NR: I don't think so.

Q. What difference could it make then?

NR: I don't know. I don't think it will make a big difference. It is just a 'been there, done that'. And that might help a little bit.

Q. Do you feel it is coming sooner rather than later?

NR: Yeah, it will come. Even with last year's car we nearly won in Shanghai, so it will come.

HOPES FOR 2012

While Rosberg is convinced about the ultimate potential of Mercedes, he openly admits that there will be no miracle transformation in its form for 2012.

However, with the team electing to skip the opening test at Jerez so it can keep developing its W03 for as long as possible, the signs are there of a quiet confidence about potential for even next year.

Ross Brawn and the Mercedes GP hierarchy announced the team would opt to miss the first test of 2012 © LAT

Q. Mercedes has taken the option of skipping the first test, and is the only team to have confirmed that plan? Do you feel that is a sign of confidence?

NR: I am happy with that. It is just the choice that they have made. It is the compromise between testing early enough and having enough time to develop. And they need to find a middle way - and they have decided that that is the best way to do it. So, no worries.

And with the way the factory is going now, I am confident. This year we would not have managed to do the first race if we had run the car that late, but with the way the factory is now optimised, I am confident that we can quite happily make it happen and the car can race very soon after the first test - with just a few bits and pieces that need to be sorted out. That shows already that the team is a big improvement.

Q. And I guess it is important that those two tests are good this year, rather than a repeat of 12 months ago?

NR: Yes. But then again, I am quite comfortable that the factory works better, so the reliability initially will be better and things like that.

Q. What is realistic for 2012 then?

NR: Realistic? It is going to be consistent podiums, because I believe we can do a big step. But we need a massive step to be able to win. That is not going to be easy. But let's go for the big step and that should be possible. It has to happen, because with all the big steps we have now and the factory working so much better, we will improve.

To become the best team in F1, we still have some way ahead of us. But that will come too. It is just going to take a bit longer. So realistically to become the best team in F1 it is going to be the year after because it is a process. Maybe we can build a car that is very, very good, but to really be the best team in F1 is going to take a little bit of time.

Q. This year the blown diffuser had such an impact on form, so do you think with things being different next year that gives Mercedes a better chance of closing up?

NR: Yeah, but even with the rule change I don't think it will change much. There is always something and in the end, it is just the best team that does the best job with whatever they get.

Rosberg is clearly a man comfortable with his place in the sport, but tremendously eager to make that final step to become a winner.

When we start talking about the way circumstances have thrust less experienced drivers like Sebastian Vettel to much greater success, Rosberg says he does not waste even one second ruing the opportunities others have had.

It's very much a sportsman's mentality. I suggest to him that if in my job my bosses would only give me a broken pencil and a shabby piece of paper, I would be tremendously annoyed at my fellow scribes who could bash stuff out on their state-of-the-art laptops.

"Why?" responds Rosberg. "If you write great stories with your broken pencil then I think you would be pretty happy with yourself, if that is what you have. You know that two years down the road, if you continue to write good stories, then you will get the Mont Blanc pen. So you should be pretty comfortable..."

And that is very much the situation Rosberg is in. He is sanguine because he knows that his equivalent of a Mont Blanc is just around the corner.