Interview: Divided Loyalties for Rosberg in Title Fight

Former champion Keke Rosberg has divided loyalties as Kimi Raikkonen, Juan Pablo Montoya and Michael Schumacher fight for the Formula One Championship.

The Finn, who won the 1982 title for Williams, said he expects his former team to win the constructors' title while Sunday's Italian Grand Prix should ease his dilemma on the driver front.

"It's difficult because I have a lot of friends at McLaren and a lot of friends at Williams, so my heart is a bit split between the two," he told Reuters at Monza, where Montoya was chasing pole position on Saturday.

"And with Kimi as a Finnish driver, it is difficult to be objective," he added.

Ferrari's five-times champion Schumacher leads Williams' Montoya by one point with McLaren's Raikkonen a further point behind. Williams lead Ferrari in the constructor's standings by eight points, with McLaren a further six behind the Italian team.

"I think Williams will win the constructors' title," added Rosberg. "I don't know why but I have got a good feeling about that."

Two races remain after Monza, Ferrari's home circuit, in the closest Championship in years - and that looks like remaining undecided right to the end in Japan next month.

Crystal Ball

"Everybody is trying to read the crystal ball now and nobody knows what is going to happen," said Rosberg, who was manager of McLaren's double World Champion Mika Hakkinen until the Finn retired in 2001 and made way for Raikkonen.

"But I have a hunch that one of the three is not going to finish here and, after that, you have only two candidates. If you don't finish here, you are out of it. It's not going to go with three down to the wire."

Rosberg won just one race on his way to his Championship, a feat that Raikkonen could emulate after winning only in Malaysia so far, and he said 23-year-old Finn's chances were as good as any of the three.

"Mika is about 100 years older than Kimi, so they don't really compare," he added. "Different times, different this and that. But Kimi is a very promising young driver who is developing incredibly fast into a World Championship contender."

Rosberg's son Nico has tested with Williams and is a promising talent on Formula One's horizon.

"I hope he can make it into Formula One, that is certainly his goal and he's working very hard to achieve that," said Rosberg. "I would be very, very happy for him because I think it's a fantastic life. If you like racing and that's what you want to do professionally, there's no better place to be."