Interview with Nico Rosberg

This has been a strange rookie year for Nico Rosberg, who has endured a roller coaster ride of form at Williams. He started of course in the best possible fashion with that brilliant drive to seventh, via fastest lap, in Bahrain. Had he not tagged Nick Heidfeld at the first corner, he could have finished fourth. Then there was a second-row qualifying performance in Malaysia, spoiled a little when he got caught up with teammate Mark Webber at the first corner.

Since then, highlights have been few. At the Nurburgring, an engine penalty saw him start from the back, and again he came through to take seventh. But strangely enough, those two drives through the field represent his only scores to date, although there have been a couple of near misses with ninths.

In Germany, he simply got it wrong on the first lap. He's also been a victim of the unreliability that has likewise hampered Webber's season. Twice Rosberg gone off the road after a mechanical gremlin struck; in Monaco, the same exhaust failure and fire that stopped Webber, and in the wet in Hungary, he had an electrical problem. But there have also been races where he's just been off the pace, notably Indianapolis and Magny-Cours, despite Bridgestone's apparent advantage at those venues.

It all goes to show just how hard it is for a young driver to come into the sport, even with a year of testing behind him. He's been further compromised by the lack of miles on Fridays as the team try to protect their Cosworth engines - a real problem for a driver who doesn't know the tracks outside Europe. And technical director Sam Michael would probably be the first to admit that the inconsistent FW28 hasn't been the easiest car in which to make your debut.

The important thing is that he's made a good impression on the right people. Frank Williams is not the sort of man to keep a driver on just because he likes him (and respects his father, in this case Keke Rosberg), and clearly there is sound thinking behind the decision to take up the option on him for a second season in 2008.

The team have kept the faith and are well aware that the first year was going to be a steep learning curve. Perhaps the main thing is that Nico has shown his willingness and ability to learn. He knows that it won't happen all at once, and he's methodically trying to hone his game in every area. It's his ultimate potential that Frank is buying into.

Q: In Germany it was confirmed that you are staying on next year. There was always a possibility that you weren't, so was that ever a real concern?

Nico Rosberg © LAT

Rosberg: "I was in a pretty good position, because I had one or two other good possibilities. So it wasn't looking too bad, let's say it that way. Of course you're always worried, anything can happen in F1, but I was in an alright situation."

Q: Did Frank actually phone you and say he was taking up the option?

Rosberg: "It was a gradual process, really. Since the beginning of the season we've got on pretty well together, I think, and he's been pretty open with me. The general feeling for a long time has been that I'm going to stay on board. But you can never sit back until the thing is signed, and even then it's not time to sit back."

Q: So when did you actually know?

Rosberg: "A while ago!"

Q: Things haven't really gone your way over the last few races. Are you finding out how tough F1 can be?

Rosberg: "It's never easy, I think, especially when you're in the first year and you're picking up and learning everything. No one said it was going to be easy, really! But on the whole, I'm pretty pleased with the way it's gone for me personally. The goal was to establish myself in F1, the first goal, and I've managed to do that now. That was important, and I'm very happy about it."

Q: How big is the jump from GP2?

Rosberg: "It's quite a big jump, for sure, not so much from the driving side of things, because being quick you'll be there in every car. But it's more difficult to get the car to your liking, because it's become so technical, and there's so much you can do to help yourself and get the car right. That becomes very difficult and very challenging. And then there's also getting used to everything around it."

Q: What sort of things?

Rosberg: "There's so much more you have to do on the job side of things. You're here to drive a racing car, but there's so much else you have to do. You need to get used to that also, and not let it drain your energy. I know that, I understand that it helps me a lot, the better I cope with all this, so I make sure I'm strong in every area that I can be."

Q: How much help have you had from your father?

Rosberg: "He has a lot of input, but not from the driving side, because he can't have input on that side as an outsider. But he helps me a lot with everything outside of the car - just little things, how I need to cope with this, how I need to do that, what I can improve here, there and everywhere. There is so much you have to do, and so much where you can be better than others outside the car. And that helps a lot."

Nico Rosberg set fastest lap on his debut in the Grand Prix of Bahrain © LAT

Q: How disappointing is it when the team had so much momentum for the first few races, and then it seemed to disappear...

Rosberg: "For one, I think it's definitely tougher for someone like Mark, who's here [in F1] for five years, than for someone like me who's coming in. First of all, I've got a bit of time on my hands, I think. It's been a general achievement to be in F1, you know.

"Of course you want success, but you can suffer a bit less, I think, compared to Mark, who's thinking 'I want to be winning now'. But of course, starting the season well, you expect to continue like that, and then to be set back a little bit is not easy."

Q: Obviously you had a great car in Bahrain, but you really seemed to struggle to get the package right in places like Indy and France. Was that difficult?

Rosberg: "Yes, it was, definitely. In Bahrain, I was very happy with the car, but from then on it dropped away a little bit, especially for the overseas races. But now it's coming back together. It's especially difficult to drive when the car isn't handling right, that makes it very tough. Especially overseas, it was very tough to drive and not very pleasant.

"Hockenheim was not a good weekend from my point of view. The crash was my mistake. I just lost the rear, and that was it. A few things just came together, and that was the result of it. The most I can do is learn again and pick up a few things from a weekend like that, and get better."

Q: Was it important that you showed what you could do so early on in Bahrain?

Rosberg: "I did a better race in Silverstone than I did in Bahrain, from my point of view. I really got the maximum out of the car, which I didn't in Bahrain, where I should have finished in around fourth place. But nobody sees it because the car isn't as competitive any more, and that's also something I have to get used to in F1. It annoys me a bit, because everybody says first race, first race."

Q: Is Nurburgring one of the others that you are proud of?

Rosberg: "Among other things, yes. But we should have gotten a bit more out of that one, as I had two guys right in front of me. But that was also a good race."

Q: We know the car has had some aero problems, and the tyre situation changes all the time. Is it hard for a new guy to keep up?

Rosberg: "It is quite a complex situation. It's been quite a chaotic season really, up and down performances, especially us - we've been all over the place. It's another challenge, really, to get used to everything and just learn."

Mark Webber leads Nico Rosberg in the German Grand Prix © XPB/LAT

Q: Is that inconsistency in the car's competitiveness a bit frustrating?

Rosberg: "A little bit, yes. But for me, I'm more moody or frustrated or happy about the job I do relative to others rather than the car being quick or not quick, at the moment. The time will come in the very near future when I will say, 'Jesus, I want to be a bit further up,' but at the moment, it's more important to me that I do a good job with the car that I have, whatever it is."

Q: How do you think you've done against Mark?

Rosberg: "Mark is a very, very strong driver. Unfortunately a little bit underrated even, which isn't good for me! But he is extremely strong, and not easy to beat. I said recently in F1 Racing that he's not as strong in races. I made a mistake, I'm young. I should have said he's that little bit better in qualifying, that's the way I should have put it! You say 'not,' and there's a negative word. It was my mistake, and I'm learning. So I should have said he's that little bit better in qualifying.

"He's a very, very strong driver. I think generally I've done pretty well compared to him, at some tracks better than others. I'm pleased, I hoped that I would outqualify him a handful of times, and I've done that. I just generally try to be thereabouts with his pace, and throughout the year I've achieved that, I think."

Q: The odd thing is that Mark has had a few early retirements as well, like Silverstone, Indy and Hungary, so there haven't been many chances to compare the two of you over a race distance recently

Rosberg: "Yes, that's very true."

Q: You've had limited practice because of the engine situation. Does that hurt you in qualifying?

Rosberg: "Does it hurt me in qualifying? A little bit, yes."

Q: You've got five races left, and you don't know the last three tracks. What can you do?

Rosberg: "Again, make good use of the time on the tracks and learn the tracks well, and just keep on progressing from my point of view."

Q: We have just been to Hockenheim. Do you feel that the German fans regard you as one of their own?

Rosberg: "They do regard me as German, most definitely. But it's important to create results. You're not going to create a lot of awareness if you're running seventh. You need to be winning or on the podium to get the attention, whoever you are."

Nico Rosberg speaks with a Bridgestone technician during testing © LAT

Q: Do you like the sound of the Williams-Toyota package for 2007, with everyone on the same tyres?

Rosberg: "I like it, yes, I really do. Toyota seem very strong engine-wise, especially for next year and the coming years. I'm sure that Frank has taken care of the fact that we'll get the same stuff, otherwise he would never have done it. Never. He would never have put his team into a situation like that, so I'm sure Frank has made sure that we all get the same material. It'll be good."

Q: And you have a little head start on Bridgestone...

Rosberg: "It's a little bit of give and take, really. We've given up a little bit this year by taking a bit of a risk, and it was a bit of a risk for sure, and we'll get a bit back next year. We have experience with the Bridgestones now, which will help us. We know cambers, pressures, how they work, and everything."

Q: Is it going to be a more competitive package?

Rosberg: "Most definitely. And I'm also looking forward to me getting more and more influence into it, or trying to at least. Because it's only with experience and settling down that you can really take more time for these other things, and I'm looking forward to being able to push more and more and really express more and more what kind of issues are the main problems for going quicker on the track. The driver is important, because he's the one who's driving the car."

Q: Is that already happening?

Rosberg: "They do know a lot about what they are doing, but slowly and surely I am pointing out things and saying this might be a very important aspect, and things like that. It's just a gradual process. The main point is going to be towards the end of the year, preparing for next year when the races are starting to be over, then I can really take time for that."