Nico Rosberg

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GPF1 Italy 08 (12/09) :

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GPF1 Italy 08 (12/09) :

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Friday...

Nico Rosberg (5th) : "I think we have started the weekend well. In the morning session in the wet, we were pretty quick and I felt very comfortable in the car, so even if it rains in the race, we can be pretty strong here. We weren’t too bad this afternoon in the drier conditions either, and despite the weather over the day, we managed to fit everything in, so practice was really well managed by the team. The car has good balance, but of course we still need to fine tune this a little bit. In terms of performance, we are definitely looking better than we have done of late. The Toyota engine is making a good contribution and because the car is performing well for this one-off low downforce race, we need to make the best of it."

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GPF1 Italy 08 (13/09) :

Nico Rosberg mastered challenging wet conditions while qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, securing a fifth place grid slot for Williams’ 500th race start tomorrow. In so doing, Nico equalled his best qualifying performance this season. While some drivers such as Nico prospered in the rain, the weather conspired against many others, including a number of title contenders, and Nico’s team-mate, Kazuki Nakajima, who will take to the start tomorrow on the ninth row of the grid.

Nico Rosberg: "I am really pleased with the result today. It was a good qualifying session and I was consistently able to be at the front and, despite the conditions, I felt comfortable in the car. On top of this, we didn’t compromise too much for qualifying and we have a good strategy plan for the race. As tomorrow goes, I would rather we didn’t have as much rain as we did today as it was pretty dangerous in terms of aquaplaning. Ultimately, I don’t mind if it is dry or wet tomorrow as long as the amount of rain is reasonable as I have the benefit of a good start position."

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13/09/08 - motorsport aktuell : «Strategie stimmt»

Von Mathias Brunner

Startplatz 5 bedeutet für Nico Rosberg und Williams das beste Quali Ergebnis dieser Saison (zusammen mit Montreal). Der Wiesbadener freut sich aufs Rennen.

Hinterm Bus der FIA geht es zu wie am Feierabend im Hauptbahnhof: ein Gedränge und Ellbögeln, Kamerateams balgen sich um Meinungen der Fahrer, es regnet noch immer. Mittendrin ein Nico Rosberg mit sonnigem Lächeln.

Nico, ein verrücktes Qualifying und endlich mal ein Fortschritt für Williams ...

Nico Rosberg: (schmunzelt) Tja, im Regen macht halt eben der Fahrer den ganzen Unterschied, da nützt es auch nichts, wenn man das beste Auto hat! Nee, ich mach nur Spass. Also ich habe mich im Regen eigentlich sehr wohl gefühlt. Wir waren die ganze Zeit bei den Schnellsten dabei. Ich bin sehr zufrieden, zumal ich reichlich Sprit an Bord habe. Unsere Strategie stimmt.

Kimi Räikkönen nur auf Platz 14, WM-Leader Lewis Hamilton gar Fünfzehnter – haben die schlichtweg verzockt?

Nico Rosberg: Ich glaube, das lag weniger an den Fahrern. Ich kann mir auch nicht vorstellen, dass es an der Abstimmung lag, denn – so weit ich das sehen konnte – sind alle mehr oder weniger mit Trocken-Set up gefahren. Ich sehe den Grund für ihre schlechten Platzierungen vielmehr in einer missglückten Strategie, sie waren also nicht zu jenem Zeitpunkt auf der Bahn, als die Strecke am wenigsten nass war.

Könnte man unter den Bedingungen des Abschlusstrainings ein Rennen fahren?

Nico Rosberg: Nein, das wäre zu viel Wasser. Da wäre mindestens ein Start hinterm Safety-Car vonnöten. Dann müsste man sehen, wie sich die Situation entwickelt.

Hättest du in Sachen Wetter einen besonderen Wunsch?

Nico Rosberg: Eigentlich nicht. Ob es regnet oder trocken bleibt, das ist mir egal. Aber gemessen an den Erfahrungen aus dem Training wären wir auf nasser Bahn bestimmt konkurrenzfähiger.

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GPF1 Italien 08 :

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GPF1 Italy 08 :

Race...

Weather played a decisive role in the outcome of the Italian Grand Prix today, unfortunately mitigating all of the advantage gained by Nico Rosberg in yesterday’s strong qualifying session. After a wet start to this afternoon’s race, the unexpected drying conditions meant an extra and unscheduled stop for the German driver, relegating him from a top five position to P14 at the finish. Team-mate Kazuki Nakajima made a tactical decision to start from the pitlane and make some aero modifications to his car which allowed him to progress six places at various intervals during the race, but ultimately he finished just outside the top ten and was also not able to claim any points. After demonstrating good but unfulfilled potential in the wet in Italy and having shown a strong pace earlier in the season on street circuits, the team will be seeking to convert these factors into a strong performance in Singapore in two weeks time.

Nico Rosberg:"The outcome today was really disappointing as we were in a great position with potentially the best strategy, but again I finished towards the back of the field. In the first stint I thought I should be able to maintain a good pace, but I really struggled with tyre degradation and I lost time to those in front of me. But what was really decisive today was the tyre decision for my stop, which really destroyed the possibility of a good finish in the points. Everyone else was staying on full wets, so we thought we were in a good position to do the same and to keep risk to a minimum. In any case, at that point there wasn’t a dry line to see, but ultimately it proved to be the wrong choice."

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iWitness Monza Saturday...

The AT&T Williams marketing team are having to vet the drivers’ autograph cards closely this weekend. Nico and Kazuki have taken to drawing on each other’s photographs “just for fun”, with the result that Nico has grown horns in some of his pictures and Kazuki angel wings. Nice touch!

This being the last European race of the season, Nico decided to take all of his mechanics out to dinner this evening. They went to El Cordobes, close to the Autodromo di Monza, and by all accounts had a raucous evening. Should Nico get a good result in tomorrow’s race, no doubt they’ll be back there again!

This is the link : iWitness monza

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GPF1 Italy 08 :

iWitness sunday monza : To help RTL with its build-up to the inaugural Singapore Grand Prix, Nico Rosberg has filmed a trailer for the German broadcaster. The lights in the AT&T Williams pit garage had to be turned out last night (night race, geddit?), and a spotlight was shone on Nico. He wasn’t a one-take wonder, however, because he held up five fingers to signify four days to go until the race…!

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GPF1 Italy 08 :

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Gala Evening to Celebrate 30 Years of Racing

On Thursday 20th November, Old Billingsgate in the City of London will host what promises to be a truly memorable gala evening to celebrate the team’s 30th year in the sport and you could be a part of it.

Join this illustrious celebration of the glamour and sporting triumph of one of Britain’s best loved sporting teams together with founders Sir Frank Williams, Patrick Head and the team’s race drivers Nico Rosberg and Kazuki Nakajima. A who’s who of motor racing stars will be present including former World Champion and President of the BRDC Damon Hill, all in the company of your host, impressionist and motor racing devotee, Rory Bremner.

This prestigious evening to celebrate thirty years of pure racing and 16 FIA Formula One World Championships will start with a champagne reception before a banquet dinner, a charity auction of matchless racing memorabilia and an after dinner concert from the global sensation and award-winning artist, Jamie Callum.

The evening will continue after midnight for all guests in the exclusive surroundings of the City’s Eight club.

Immerse yourself in an evening to remember in the surroundings of race cars from the last three decades of Williams’ success on the track, as well as the people and personalities that have given this exceptional team its enduring appeal. England rugby stars Lawrence Dallaglio and Joe Worsley and Jay Kay from Jamiroquai are just some of the stars from the sports, music and media industries who will be present.

Date: Thursday 20th November 2008, 7pm

Carriages: Midnight

Venue: Old Billingsgate, 1 Old Billingsgate Walk, London EC3R 6DX

Dress: Black Tie

Price of Blue Table: £9,500 + VAT per table of 12 (11 Guests + Williams F1 personality). This is your opportunity to have one of our 2008 AT&T Williams drivers Nico Rosberg or Kazuki Nakajima join your table for the entire evening. Or you may like to have our Director of Engineering Patrick Head, Technical Director, Sam Michael or Chief Executive Officer, Adam Parr join you and your guests. Please note these tables are limited and available on a first come, first served basis.

Price of White Table: £7,000 + VAT per table of 12, or £599 + VAT per person. Tables located close to stage and include Williams F1 gift.

Price of Silver Table: £5,900 + VAT per table of 12, or £499 + VAT per person.

Tickets Include: Champagne reception, four course dinner with wine*, memorabilia charity auction and interviews on stage with motorsport personalities past and present, after dinner concert with Jamie Cullum.

*unlimited wine, beer and soft drinks throughout the evening at Old Billingsgate.

For all bookings please contact Paul Welch at Sportingclass on +44 (0) 208 410 6035 or email [email protected]

This is the link :Gala Evening to Celebrate 30 Years of Racing

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Nico's Italian GP Column

The Italian Grand Prix was a missed opportunity. Had I changed onto intermediate tyres at my only scheduled pitstop of the race on lap 28, I would probably have beaten Robert Kubica to third place. As it was, I stayed on extreme wets because we thought more rain was coming and when it didn’t materialise I had to make a stop for inters on lap 33.

Strategic decisions like this are easy in hindsight, but in the heat of the moment you’re walking on a knife-edge. The weather was very unpredictable and we made the wrong call. It was as simple as that. However, had we known at the time that Rubens Barrichello had changed onto inters as early as lap 16 and immediately gone two seconds a lap faster, we might have thought differently…

While 14th was a disappointing result, there are plenty of positives to take from this race. We improved the balance of the FW30 throughout the weekend and were competitive in qualifying. Given my heavy fuel load, I was pleased to be fifth on the grid, but I don’t think I did a better job than at Spa the previous weekend, when I lined up 15th!

From here I’m returning to Monaco for a few days before heading to Jerez for the final mid-season test session of the year. The focus of the test will be on next year’s regulations and we’ve got a lot of parts to try, which should be interesting. Then I’m flying straight to Singapore for the next race.

I’m looking forward to the inaugural Singapore Grand Prix race for several reasons. Most importantly, I think our car could be quite competitive on the 5.067km (3.149-mile) track because I’m told the layout is similar to Monaco, where I qualified sixth and was competitive in the race until I crashed. I’m also excited by the fact that the race is taking place at night because I think it will bring an added dimension to the weekend.

One of the biggest question marks surrounding the race is what time zone to stay in. I’ve decided that I’m going to remain on European time because there’s no point in waking up at 7am if you don’t need to be at your peak until 8pm, when the race starts. As a result, I’ll be going to bed at about 4am every morning, so I hope the nightlife’s good! I’d better ask the guys at RBS where to hang out because they hold a lot of PR events in the city-state.

See you out there,

Nico

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23/09/08 : Points-hopeful Rosberg to stay on European time

As F1 takes a step into the unknown with its first ever night race, WilliamsF1 driver Nico Rosberg sees a strong opportunity to claim points this weekend in Singapore, and will not acclimatise to the local time zone, in order to be on his toes and ready to capitalise on any opportunity.

"It should be a good race for us as the track looks like it should suit our car pretty well and personally I always really enjoy racing on street circuits," said Rosberg. "New tracks are often quite demanding and take a bit of time during practice to get used to. Racing at night will add to that challenge, but the whole concept of night racing is fantastic."

"It will be a great show for the fans, and an interesting experience for all the teams. Singapore itself is a great new venue for Formula One and for all of our partners as well," he added. "I'm flying out quite late this week and will stay on European time while there. This weekend gives us another opportunity to claim some points which is certainly our aim."

Rosberg joins team mate Nakajima and Renault's Fernando Alonso who have come out publicly saying they will stay on European time.

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Preview Singapore GP (2008)

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GPF1 Singapore 2008 : (25/09/08)

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