Nico Rosberg Says He Is Out To Beat Lewis Hamilton In 2015

Mercedes teammates Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg — Mercedes Formula One World Champion Lewis Hamilton of Britain (L) speaks to Mercedes Formula One driver Nico Rosberg of Germany during the annual 'Stars & Cars' event in Stuttgart November 29, 2014. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle REUTERS/Michaela Rehle

Nico Rosberg said that he is prepared to put up another gripping performance in the 2015 Formula One (F1) season. Rosberg, who finished as a runner-up for the driver’s championship title last season is feeling stronger than ever and ready to give teammate and defending champion Lewis Hamilton a run for his money in the 2015 F1 season.

In an exclusive interview with F1, Rosberg said that he has already started working for the next season as soon as the last race ended in Abu Dhabi. The 29-year-old German thinks that there is no one else other than his Mercedes teammate who stands between him and the F1 World Driver’s Championship title. Prior to Rosberg’s runner-up finish last season, his best F1 performance came in 2013 when he finished at the sixth spot.

“For now it is Lewis,” Rosberg said when asked who his main target for the 2015 season is. “Irrelevant of the car’s pace, he is going to be a big challenge to me, yes.”

According to Rosberg, who had some difficult moments and had to face a number of criticisms in 2014, he performed fairly well last season. He said that he couldn’t think of any particular reason about what went wrong for him. Rosberg said that Hamilton just drove better than him, which is why he is out to take small steps in his bid to take the F1 World Driver’s Championship title away from Hamilton.

Rosberg and Hamilton had gone head-to-head in almost every race since they were teenagers. They have gone corner-to-corner on the track circuits but the German was eventually trampled by Hamilton for the world title.

The 2014 season presented an intense battle between Rosberg and Hamilton. At the 2014 Belgian Grand Prix, Rosberg and Hamilton collided early in the race. The British racer was forced to retire ultimately telling the reporters that Rosberg intentionally crashed into him. Rosberg was later fined by Mercedes and also asked to deliver an apology.

Despite that, Rosberg couldn’t think of a better teammate than Hamilton. He said that he gets a lot of enjoyment from the challenge.

2014 F1 Racing Stats

Rosberg (Results/Percentage)

Pole Positions (11/57.89%)

Race Wins (5/26.32%)

Podium Finishes (15/78.95%)

Top Five Finishes (16/84.21%)

Finished Races (17/89.47%)

Overall F1 Points - 317

Hamilton (Results/Percentage)

Pole Positions (7/36.84%)

Race Wins (11/57.89%)