Nico knows what it means to me: Keke after family double

After Graham Hill and Damon, Rosbergs are second father-son champs in F1

Nico Rosberg’s father, Keke, the Formula One world champion in 1982, broke a media silence of nearly seven years to mark his son winning the title in Abu Dhabi.
He watched Sunday’s race before joining family celebrations at the Yas Marina Circuit. “My role is one of private support,” he said. “I haven’t made one interview since January 2010. This is the first time – and it was hard to avoid.”
Rosberg Senior has not always been as successful at maintaining a low profile. In his driving days he liked to boast that each sponsor’s patch on his overalls represented a house. He took his family from Germany to live in Monaco when Nico was a small boy. A fat cigar hung from his lips after the grand prix, just as it did when he drove, but he is now more interested in talking about his son than himself.
“It is remarkable and I admire him for his mental strength and commitment. We have to remember the commitment of somebody like Nico is 110% and it has nothing to do with how I went about being a Formula One driver. I don’t think many people from outside, including the media, appreciate the effort that went into this.”
Referring to his son’s Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton Keke said: “There is one guy in Los Angeles, here, there and everywhere, and then you have one guy concentrating on only one thing. Nutrition, time differences, training, emptying the brain at the right time and concentrating only on performance, performance, performance. So it’s a different approach. Both seem to work.”
He added: “Singapore was the highlight for me. I think this was the hardest world championship ever. Right down to the line of the last race. I thought I would see something I didn’t want to see in the last two laps. But luckily I didn’t.”
Like Nico, Keke, 67, is a man of considerable character but he showed his in a more extrovert way. He was upset when he attended the Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile prize-giving ceremony just before Christmas in 1982.
“Everyone knows the language of Formula One is English but they wouldn’t have it,” he says. “They gave me this great buildup in French – a language I don’t speak. So I thought: ‘Fine, I’ll let them know how it feels.’ I made my acceptance speech in Finnish, English, Swedish and German.”
After Graham Hill (1962 and 1968) and Damon (1996) the Rosbergs are the second father and son champions in F1.
Which championship meant more, his or his son’s? “For me, it is all about Nico and his performance and his success now. It is a family sport and he knows what it means to me and what it means to him.”
Had he texted advice before the final race? “It is a bit difficult. You have got to say something but what do you say? Don’t spin in the first corner? You can’t do that. You try to keep spirits up and enjoy it. It is a sport. The pressure should always be less than the enjoyment.
 “He could have won the championship here in 2014. He has been there or thereabouts for a long time. The last three years have been under tremendous pressure because you are fighting for the win every weekend and you are fighting for a championship every year and DNFs hurt you really big time.
“But this is the nature of the sport. Now the cars are so reliable every DNF is a big disaster, whereas in our days it was everyday life.”
So is it easier to win now? “No, but it’s a completely different game.”
Rosberg Senior won the title 34 years ago with only one victory. “My wins don’t count now, they are such a long time ago. I could have been a dentist.”
Would Nico become stronger after this? “I don’t know if the dynamic changes but a happy man performs better than an unhappy man. He is going to raise the game a little bit next year like everybody does when they win the championship. Jenson Button did it. I did it. And that probably will happen. It goes with the game.”