|
|||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||
Touchdown for the 2016 FIA F1 World Champions!
Ahead of the FIA Prize giving ceremony in Vienna, Austria, on Friday when he will be officially crowned, 2016 Formula One World Champion-elect Nico Rosberg yesterday touched down in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on the first stop of a whistle-stop global celebration tour. "I have been working towards it since 25 years, my whole life, and it was extremely intense out there on Sunday, touch-and-go at times and it could have been really hairy to lose the championship. But afterwards, it was amazing to share it with everybody, especially with the team. Mercedes is my racing family in F1 and we have been in this together since day one in 2010, just like PETRONAS - and now we are the best in the world. My best friends came out to Abu Dhabi to surprise me and then, of course, my parents too. It's one of the most emotional parts of it to achieve what my Dad did 34 years ago. My parents had prepared a video of me during my very first couple of days in a go-kart which I had never seen before; when I saw it on Sunday night on social media, I cried my eyes out, thinking of the support from both my parents across all those years. "I owe some words to Lewis, too. He's one of the best in the world, one of the best ever surely, so it's incredibly intense to race him. It feels like we've been doing it forever and he's always edged me out ever so slightly, so to finally get one back was awesome. I've got great respect for him because he does an incredible job, he's done so well over the years and he fought to the very last metre on Sunday. That made it extremely tough on Sunday but all the more beautiful afterwards."
"When we first brought Lewis and Nico together as our driver pairing back in 2013, we made it clear that there would be no number one status for either of them - and they didn't want that either. We knew we had two world class talents on our hands and that giving them equal opportunity to fulfil their potential would bring the best out of them. At the same time, we knew that this approach would sometimes give us some tough moments to deal with. It's something we took into account and accepted as a challenge worth tackling. When you see the results we've had together, it's clear that this is the right approach. One of the keys to our success has been that they constantly push each other - and that in turn kept raising the bar even higher. They are both born fighters and the intense competition has been good for them, for the team and for the sport. "Finally, a word for Nico. I have seen the video he mentioned about his first laps in a go-kart and I found it pretty inspiring. When we see drivers here today in Formula One, we tend to forget about all the effort that has gone in to getting them where they are. When I see that little kid in a go-kart, 25 years ago, I realise once again what a long journey it has been for Nico and everything he has poured into achieving his dream. He has shown such commitment and drive to get where he is today and is a thoroughly deserving World Champion."
"I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate Nico on his success this season. It is a great moment to welcome the next world champion in here at our headquarters, fresh from the final race in Abu Dhabi, and to be able to share our celebrations with him and with Toto. We have enjoyed three remarkable seasons of success and we are working harder than ever to meet the major new challenges of the 2017 regulations next year." After famously taking this season one race at a time, Nico has now found a new application for his rigid mental discipline. In the aftermath of a season comprising a record 21 races, he's planning to take the coming weeks... one party at a time! Video and imagery from the event can be found at: media.mercedesamgf1.com The World Champion's next few days are currently scheduled to include:
Feedback can be sent to feedback@autoracing1.com Go to our forums to discuss this article |
|||||||||||
|