Nico Rosberg admits that his father Keke Rosberg advised him to stick with Mercedes – Formula 1
Nico Rosberg has admitted that he was advised by his father to stick with Mercedes, when he was offered a Ferrari contract.
Ferrari were rumoured to drop Felipe Massa for the 2012 season and Rosberg’s name was being taken as a replacement.
Rosberg said that his father Keke Rosberg who was with the Mercedes team when he won the 1982 world title wanted me to stick with Mercedes.
“He was just beside himself, saying that I should stay (at Mercedes) 110 per cent,” 26-year-old Rosberg is quoted by Sport Bild.”
Rosberg has had a good run with Mercedes as he has been able to out run his teammate Michael Schumacher for the past two seasons. Rosberg said that beating Schumacher did give him tremendous satisfaction. He said it is natural when you perform better than
a seven-time world champion it is always a good feeling.
Mercedes are speculated to perform considerably better than in 2011 and are even looking to win races. Rosberg said his main goal is to get at least three podium finishes which would be better than his previous year performance.
Mercedes unveiled their new car during the second pre-season test and have found good pace and reliability with the car. The team said that they are looking towards focusing on the performance of the car in the third and final pre-season test.
“At the same time,” the German added, “I was also quite certain that Mercedes is the best place for me. Some of the more patriotic of them were a little upset when I extended my contract,” he revealed, “but I really believe in this project.”
“That would be a great step on the way to the title, which is what we want to be fighting for in the coming years,” he said.
The first race of the season will be the Australian Grand Prix scheduled on March 18, 2012. It will be important for any team to get a good start in the season in order to avoid playing catch up the rest of the season and Rosberg will be looking to do just
that for his team.
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