Rosberg feared Schumacher

At the end of the 2009 season, Nico Rosberg expressed desire to leave the team Williams, because they now want to fight for victory. It must be said that opposite, the world champion team Brawn GP is making eyes at him. Hard to resist. The young German will therefore go to join the British team, which will ultimately become?Mercedes GP.

Mentally strong, the son of the 1982 world champion is convinced that he will not have to be ashamed of the comparison with his teammate. If Jenson Button then Nick Heidfeld are expected, here finally arrives Michael Schumacher. A man who has, among other things, seven world championship titles, and who above all has the reputation of having made many of his stablemates suffer.
There was reason to procrastinate for a pilot who was only 24 years old at the time. Ultimately, Rosberg was never really worried by the man who was nicknamed “The Red Baron” in his heyday.

“It’s a season with two faces, explains the 2 GP2005 champion to the Italian magazine Autosprint. On the one hand, there is the comparison with my teammate. On this point, I'm really happy. When I signed I thought my stablemate would be Jenson Button, and that suited me. When I learned that Jenson was leaving the team, I was hoping that a talented and experienced driver would join us. So, after learning about Schumacher?s arrival, I was happy in that aspect. However, I didn't really know what to expect otherwise. First of all, I didn't know Michael in person, and I knew of his long friendship with Ross Brawn. I wasn't sure if this would impact my situation. In the end, everything worked out for the best. »

As we often say: A driver?s first opponent is his teammate. The only one to whom we can really compare it since it has strictly the same equipment. The Rosberg-Schumacher duel turned to the advantage of the youngest. The Kaiser was dominated by his teammate. A rare fact that deserves to be highlighted. With three podiums to his credit, Nico Rosberg carried the team at arm's length. A performance that did not go unnoticed.

This year, the young German confirmed the talent attributed to him in recent seasons. There will remain the frustration of not having been able to achieve victory, because as he himself admits: “If we look at the absolute results, I must say that I hoped for more”.