Nico Rosberg.... WOW !

He should have been Ferrari P2... I hope he does well this year. Frank Willams has found a good set up this year. At the end of the race he was really movin'! Go Ferrari!!

 

Don't get too ahead of yourself. F1 fans are very willing to make big proclamations based on very limited data. The guy had a good result and got fast lap - and he's the next Schumacher? MS has lots and lots and lots of stuff under his belt than just a fast lap.

Don't forget - many folks were singing the praises of Webber 3 years ago and saying he was the next MS. But what has he done lately? What buzz of him lately?

I liked Nico's performance - and I hope he does well in F1, but to date he has achieved .00001% of what Michael Schumacher has, and .01% of what guys like Alonso and Kimi have, so IMO its premature to say he's the next big thing. Coulda just been luck, or everything just going his way, or maybe he IS that good. Time will tell.

 

Premature schmemature.....Rosberg is the next big thing. Watch that footage of him passing Coulthard and there is a killer instinct in his style. I'm willing to eat my words on this.

 

I think he's fast. But more surprisingly, the Williams *is* fast. Nico gets fastest lap and Webber gets 4th. Perhaps they could be challenging for podiums. I think it's to early to tell.

I still think Webber is significantly faster than him.

 

i agree. it's still too early to judge the situation. aside from wedder, lots have been said of button. personally, i think button is just overrated. he could prove me wrong tho, this season, so we'll just have to wait and see

 

Michael Schumacher was a paydriver who was so stupid he couldn't operate the clutch and blew it up on lap 1 in his first F1 race.

Retards like him with no mechanical sympathy will never be champion...

 

WHY? How do you work that out.

Webber is an all round good driver, but he just doesn't do anything "special".... and frequently pales into insignificance, even when he gets an ok result.

I've met him BTW, and I've worked with drivers that used to beat him when he raced at junior levels here in Oz.

he doesn't have the "x" factor, IMO.

 

i think HHF used to beat MS in Mercedes too. Didn't help him much, did it?

 

Maybe. But look at other rookies who were hyped up beyond reason, like Narain Karthikeyan. They even had special Tamil commentary added to the F1 broadcast for the Indian fans. From his very first race, all he could do was establish himself as an also ran. Subsequently, he cemented his position as a defacto No. 2 driver behind a teammate (Monteiro) who had less than half the hype of Narain. On the one freak occasion (Indy) where that hopeless team actually had the opportunity to get someone on the podium, that dubious honor was taken by Monteiro (who proceeded to make a monkey out of himself by prancing around, but I digress). A real super-rookie would've seized that uncommonly valuable opportunity and smoked Monteiro to stand on the podium, but Narain just didn't have what it took. I'm glad he's out this season, he just isn't good enough.

Nico, OTOH, has proven to be very capable even in his first race (unlike Narain). Maybe it has something to do with the playing field being levelled with everyone still getting used to V8s, but that kid done good. I would place my money on him being the "real" next big thing.

 

So true, probably the most positive supprise of the 1st round. I fear they may not be able to keep up with the R&D of the other teams during the season and will fall to low mid-pack later in the summer. But to see them like this right out of the gate is great with Rosberg and Webber on their game. Hopefully the weekend will show that the Williams sucess was not a fluke.

 

Nico IS for real and IS the next MS....comparing Nico to Webber/Button is like comparing apples and oranges. Ya'll don't seem to pay attention to my comments (perhaps 'cuz I'm am not a guy and NOT suppose to know about this stuff??) - I commented last year about Nico and his performances in the GP2 races. We've attended in person several F1 races where the GP2 races preceeded the F1 (the GP2 racing was better than the F1). During those races, his performances were absolutely astonishing. His best as far as I am concerned was his performance at Spa in the rain on slicks - At one point we were standing at the fence at ***nes and his driving style was like none of the others - he was on/off the throttle coming in and exiting ***nes whereas others drove like Alonso - either on or either off. (FYI, this driving style had comments made by Varsha, Hobbs & Matchett this past weekend - comparing MS and FA).

Read this excerpt from two different articles on his last GP2 race and Championship and then you can see for yourself it wasn't pure dumb luck and that Nico is REALLY that good.

Bahrain 2005: Rosberg ends season in style.

"Nico Rosberg put the finishing touch to his GP2 Series championship win with a second victory amid the desert scenery in Bahrain.

Despite starting from eighth place on the grid after his title-clinching win on Thursday, the German made short work of the opposition to take the lead on lap 14 of 24 and pull away from the field thereafter, winning by some eight seconds from runner-up Ernesto Viso.

As the lights went out, Viso led away from pole and held first place into turn one, but Heikki Kovalainen wasn't so fortunate, and spun out on the exit. That allowed Giorgio Pantano to leap up into second, while Hiroki Yoshimoto found himself in third, with Nicolas Lapierre fourth, Jose Maria Lopez fifth, Alex Premat sixth and Rosberg seventh.

The ART Grand Prix boys were already motoring, however, and despatched Lopez after a lap, with Rosberg also passing Premat along the way. Next on the champion's radar was Lapierre who, while putting up a staunch defence, saw it come to nothing as Rosberg powered past on the back straight.

Yoshimoto's BCN was next to go, and Rosberg was already on the podium within five minutes of the race starting. He wasn't done there, though, and soon caught up to Pantano, harrying the Super Nova driver corner after corner. The Italian eventually went the same way as those before him, leaving only Viso between Rosberg and the first clean sweep of any GP2 weekend.

Nico Rosberg clinched the inaugural GP2 Series title in style, as his ART Grand Prix team completed a sweep of victory, pole position and fastest lap to end rival Heikki Kovalainen's chances of stealing the crown in Bahrain.

Starting from pole position in Sakhir, the ART Grand Prix driver pulled away from the field to underline his dominance of the second half of the season. Initially with Kovalainen for company, the German was able to concentrate on his own race when the Finn opted to make his mandatory pit-stop as the safety car retired on lap two, and capitalised on an empty track to extend his advantage over second-placed Nicolas Lapierre, the Arden-run Frenchman unable to do anything about his team-mate's title chances.

Kovalainen rejoined towards the back of the field, hoping no doubt to use the tactic that has worked well right from race one at Imola in April, climbing back through the field as others made their stops and capitalising on the leaders not being as far in front as they may have been by mid-distance. The Finn was clearly on a charge, the rear of his Arden Dallara stepping out at the slightest hint of a dusty surface, but progress into Rosberg's lead was slow.

The race - and championship - leader was not hanging about either, setting ART's first fastest lap on the third tour and continuing to run faster than almost anyone else in the field.

The pass meant a lot, despite Rosberg again upping the ante with another fastest lap. Even when Premat's car began smoking, Kovalainen appeared to be needing outside assistance, someone to deprive his rival of the two bonus points that would put the championship beyond reach."



Sir Frank Williams has a superstar on his hands (which I think is good, I really like and admire Frank), however, I remain hopeful that the German driver's career will ultimately find him in Maranello. I think the upcoming F1 races will find a five-way battle - MS, FA, KR, NR, JPM.

Can't wait for Sunday!

Carol

 

Interesting how the F1 driver pool rejuvinates itself: We have the pairing of Alonso and Kimi and now it looks like the next generation is already in the making: Nico and Kovalainen.

Aside from that Ford's V8 experience with the cossie played a major role in the development of the current engine, which some people believe is the strongest of the whole field. If Williams can sort out their car, Nico might be good for a few surprises this year.

Carol, I read your stuff.

 

Aside from Kimi coming from the back of the pack to finish on the podium (almost expected of him now!), Nico is the driver who impressed me the most. What I saw him does make me believe he is in F1 for his talent, not his last name.

Regarding him being a future champ; it is far to early to start labeling him as that. Remember how incredible Jean Alesi's debut was when he passed Senna a couple of times in Pheonix, I believe? There was certainly a lot of talk about him being the next great thing. As much as I like Alesi, the bottom line is that he wrapped up his lengthly career with a grand total of 1 win. I certainly hope that Nico becomes a true contender, but I can say that about any newcomer. The more contenders there are, the better the racing we will see.

 

Agreed on Speed and Nico, but why do you think Kovalainen is NOT in the Nico league? Just curious. I'm sure we'll see Kovalainen in a car next year doing races and he will be just as good.

PS: I said the same things about Kimi and Alonso and was right. But I also said it about Button and was wrong.

 

Webber is an all around good driver, I agree. Considering his results, no one could say otherwise. He's done fairly well in mediocre cars. Does he have the "X" factor? I don't know. Is Rosberg's first race better than Webber's first race? Even that is a tough call. It's just to early to tell.

Webber is an extremely good qualifier though, probably top 5. Considering this grid includes Schumi, Alonso, Kimi & Trulli, that means something. His qualy performance last year against Heidfeld, who outqualified Kimi, shows his skill.

 

Top 50 Fastest Laps:

1 N. ROSBERG 1:32.408 42
2 N. ROSBERG 1:32.521 26
3 M. SCHUMACHER 1:32.523 38
4 F. ALONSO 1:32.534 21
5 N. ROSBERG 1:32.577 30
6 M. SCHUMACHER 1:32.588 35
7 N. ROSBERG 1:32.618 25
8 M. WEBBER 1:32.660 25
9 N. ROSBERG 1:32.696 40
10 N. ROSBERG 1:32.709 41
11 F. ALONSO 1:32.716 37
12 J. BUTTON 1:32.729 39
13 N. ROSBERG 1:32.734 31
14 F. MASSA 1:32.739 28
15 N. ROSBERG 1:32.747 39
16 M. SCHUMACHER 1:32.757 39
17 J. MONTOYA 1:32.771 21
18 F. ALONSO 1:32.778 22
19 N. ROSBERG 1:32.793 53
20 M. SCHUMACHER 1:32.798 14
21 J. BUTTON 1:32.824 34
22 F. MASSA 1:32.839 49
23 J. MONTOYA 1:32.856 36
24 K. RAIKKONEN 1:32.864 29
25 F. MASSA 1:32.871 31
26 N. ROSBERG 1:32.874 45
27 N. ROSBERG 1:32.885 54
28 J. BUTTON 1:32.913 37
29 F. ALONSO 1:32.920 38
30 F. ALONSO 1:32.933 35
31 F. MASSA 1:32.940 29
32 N. ROSBERG 1:32.962 29
33 F. MASSA 1:32.963 52
34 M. WEBBER 1:32.975 26
35 F. MASSA 1:32.981 50
36 N. ROSBERG 1:32.992 34
37 K. RAIKKONEN 1:32.993 26
38 J. BUTTON 1:33.002 38
39 F. MASSA 1:33.004 54
40 F. ALONSO 1:33.009 55
41 N. ROSBERG 1:33.024 32
42 J. BUTTON 1:33.037 36
43 N. ROSBERG 1:33.038 46
44 M. SCHUMACHER 1:33.043 31
45 N. ROSBERG 1:33.045 47
46 J. BUTTON 1:33.050 42
47 N. ROSBERG 1:33.053 36
48 N. ROSBERG 1:33.062 21
49 N. ROSBERG 1:33.068 35
50 M. SCHUMACHER 1:33.074 32

 

Thanks for the post JT, and Carol excellent analysis.

 

And that is what I have been looking for for ever an f1 fan that is smart and not a guy.... damn too bad I am already married

 

You can go back and review the lap times fot he race and he was consistently putting down 1:32's during the middle of the race. It was not a lucky lap. He moved from that miserable start and first few laps to coming back to place 7th overall. He may not be the next Michael but he bears watching to see how he develops. I wish him well......5

 

Atlas?

 

I threw those top 50 lap times into a pivot table to show how many of the top 50 laps belong to who.....I think this says even more about Rosberg's performance (19 of the 50 belong to him) :


Count of lap
Last name Total
ROSBERG 19
MASSA 7
ALONSO 6
BUTTON 6
SCHUMACHER 6
MONTOYA 2
RAIKKONEN 2
WEBBER 2
Grand Total 50

 

It only it was still called that...

 

You're welcome. When I posted about Nico and a possible record (on another thread) I was unsure if it really was or not but I just read this and wanted to share:


One for the history books

Joining a roll of honour that includes the likes of Jackie Stewart and Alain Prost would be reason alone to be proud, but Rosberg's biggest historical achievement was setting the fastest lap of the race, making him the youngest man ever to do so.

Bruce McLaren was a previous holder of the record, setting the quickest lap of the race at Aintree in 1959 - albeit a joint-fastest with Stirling Moss. Aged 21 years and 321 days, McLaren's record stood unchallenged for 44 years, until Fernando Alonso tied it at the 2003 Canadian Grand Prix.

As if to prove this was no fluke, of the 50 fastest laps set by all the drivers during the race, Rosberg set no fewer than nineteen of them, including six of the best 10. In comparison, fourth-place finisher Jenson Button, race winner Alonso and second-place finisher Michael Schumacher, had each just six laps in the top 50. Rosberg was also the first man since Jacques Villeneuve at the 1996 Australian Grand Prix to set the fastest lap in his first Formula One race.

Carol