Possibly a race winner, but not a champion. He was offered the chance to be Hamilton's bitch at McLaren in 08 or 09 - he refused. He had the chance to replace Massa for this season, but then signed a multi-year deal with Mercedes. That multi-year deal came at the worst time possible, because he could have been a major player in the driver market - a strong contender to replace Massa, a strong contender to replace Hamitlon (if he decided to leave McLaren), and a decent chance of replacing Webber. Now, his only hope is that Mercedes produce a championship winning car in the next few years, which looks unlikely. Problem with Rosberg imo is that even if he does get a top car, I don't think he's good enough to be a champion. Rosberg is great in qualifying but a journeyman in the races - and if this continues, he may be overlooked by top teams in the future, especially with great young talents in the midfield.
Yep not only were all 4 drivers in the top teams winners, and 3 of them even championship contenders, but there were also 3 winners outside of the top 2 teams as well combined with good on track action and uncertainty about who would win the championship. But the FIA decided it was too boring and needed fixing and have so far given us constant domination in its place 1st half of 2009 Brawn were dominant 2nd half of 2009 - current day Red-Bull are dominant
We've seen several times that when a driver gets his first win it gives them such a boost and raises their whole performance level another notch. Schuey may have seen the last of Rosberg now..........
Yeah I was just thinking, this puts Rosberg on the same level as Kubica, and given Kubica's situation...
Couldn't have done anymore today, got pole and won by a margin. Asking for any more from him is well..... What the future holds, at least more confidence in the short run.
Can he be a future world champion? This year will tell a lot I feel. He is getting better no doubt, but he has to show the continued rise in prominence and consistency of Jenson Button did in 2003 and 2004 to convince me. I'm not just saying this because I want to feel like an expert but me and my brother always persisted that Button had it in him to win the championship especially after 2004. Had massive doubts as to whether we'd ever see it but we finally did and could even see it again this year for Jenson. So Nico has to show that type of form and I think he's got a great opportunity to do it in this years championship. This is a big year for Nico.
Indeed, but he better hope Lewis doesn't cut in on his action come next season. Though if he was able to beat Schumacher 2 years running what are the odds him beating Lewis now? Hmmmm an interesting lineup it would be.
In my book, this was Rosberg's long-overdue weekend of graduation. I hope he can build on it and actually, I think he will. Hot Bahrain will be difficult - even in a bullet-proof Mercedes; but whilst his team-mate continues to scratch his head about tyres, Rosberg seems to be understanding how to set-up and drive his car for them. Be sure of one thing: Schumacher will be taking notes… I expect Mercedes to hold a cool hand for cooler circuits: so strong it will threaten more victories from their faster driver - who just lost his F1 virginity.
I'm still not convinced by the car, it's optimum setup window is very narrow in comparison to the McLaren and (less so) Red Bull. If the team can keep getting the setup right, then Nico can challenge, he doesn't have Alonso's ability to drive around problems.
Rosberg has talent and I hope this is a building block so he can get more podiums. A future WDC? Not in a Mercedes I'm afraid to say.
I think Nico can be a wdc. He will need a car that has raw pace, and not a litle qualifying trick like they have now though. I don't think Jenson, Vettel etc have much on him by the way of talent, just better cars. Would lewis, webber or schmumi have done any better in the recent williams or Mercedes cars? I doubt it imo.
If he becomes a WDC it'll have to be at Mercedes, as I don't see him being able to beat Alonso, Button, Vettel or Hamilton without a car advantage, and he knows it, which is why he stuck with Mercedes.
