Prost and Senna’s relationship at McLaren was characterised by bitter dislike
at McLaren. Rosberg and Hamilton are not in that category – indeed they
still maintain a large degree of the friendship first kindled when they were
team-mates in karting, aged 14. But Rosberg is honest enough to acknowledge
a competitive edge that occasionally spills over.
“We’re not best friends, and we’re probably never going to be best friends
just because it’s difficult in this industry, especially when you’re
team-mates, fighting for wins. We get in well, we have a laugh, neutral,
very competitive. We even have some heated exchanges, but then afterwards it
gets back to normal. That’s it.
“It was the same when we were young – it was so competitive between us. In the
amount of pizzas we could eat, the wrestling matches in the hot rooms,
whatever it was. It’s the same today.”
Rosberg is wise enough to acknowledge that if, as expected, they are fighting
at the front, maintaining their friendship will be difficult. “It will
definitely be harder, yes. The more success we have, the tougher it is.”
Mercedes in 2013 were also not afraid of employing team orders, which never
helps foster harmony. In Malaysia last year, while Red Bull were mired in
their own controversy, as Sebastian
Vettel ignored a direct order to pass Mark Webber for the lead,
Rosberg was enduring his own frustration. Unlike his compatriot, however, he
obeyed the order to hold his position. After the chequered flag had fallen,
he ominously told his team on the radio: “Remember this one.”
There is a weariness in his voice when he is reminded of the controversy. “Ah,
this subject again. I’ve been through it so much. I just wanted to reiterate
that I really was a team player, which is what the team wanted from me.
“I wanted to make sure that the team remembers what I did for the future,
which they very much did. It all worked out well, and I would do exactly the
same tomorrow if I had to do that decision, because in the end it’s a team
sport. I need my team to do it together, and I respect my team, and their
decisions.”
Fundamentally, however, whatever role team orders play in 2014 at Mercedes,
this is the season for Rosberg to emerge from Vettel’s shadow, and to truly
establish himself in the very highest echelons of the sport.
Justly or unjustly, in recent seasons Rosberg has struggled to be recognised
among that select few of Vettel, Alonso, Hamilton, and perhaps Raikkonen.
After three years in which he outclassed the returning Michael Schumacher,
the consensus was that the seven-time champion had lost his way, not that
his younger team-mate had stepped up.
And in 2013, when he matched Lewis Hamilton in the same machinery, popular
opinion had it that Hamilton’s standards had slipped, rather than Rosberg’s
being elevated.
Rosberg harbours no resentment – “I respect that opinion, but it’s not
something that annoys me” – and prefers to focus on the verdicts of those
within the Mercedes family.
“I need the support of everybody to be able to win,” he says. “I’m very
conscious of that. I really like to try and work together with everybody and
get the best out of everything that we have.”
Rosberg admits Mercedes “underestimated” the challenge of Formula One on their
return to the sport after half a century in 2010. Since then, however, they
have invested hugely, assembling a technical team which is the envy of the
paddock.
In pre-season testing they showed little sign of missing the retiring Ross
Brawn. While Red Bull floundered, the silver arrows racked up the miles,
setting a searing pace in the process. Rosberg, with just three career wins
to his name to date, can expect many more this season, with his eye for
technical detail well matched to the plethora of new regulations.
“There’s so much that’s different this season. It’s really a matter of
practising to integrate it all, and making it sub-conscious. The more you
have to think, that’s when things are going to go wrong. There’s a very
positive energy and momentum in the team. Everybody is really firing up.
It’s obvious in every single person. We’re ready to step up – we feel it.”
Nico Rosberg is the brand ambassador for the Thomas Sabo Rebel at Heart
collection.