Q: Nico, the ink is now dry on your new contract, but did Mercedes try to beat the price down after your slight drop-off in results lately? Money is a sharp indicator of a driver’s value in the paddock…
Nico Rosberg: Ha, no! A two-year contract is not a day-to-day matter - and I am not a share on the stock market with daily adjustment where the price goes up when I am winning and tumbles down when I come in further back. Neither is the paddock a bazaar where you bargain the price. It’s not like: you’ve not delivered enough points in the last month - you get two camels less. There’s no bargaining at this end of the paddock. We all know my value - and that’s it.
Q: Then let’s turn to a non-monetary issue: the complaints from some quarters that Formula One racing is overregulated. You were a victim of it at Silverstone, where you lost second place due to illegal communication with the pit wall. What would you deregulate if you had your say?
NR: No, no, I haven’t been a victim. We made a mistake. The rules are there so that it is back to the driver and his machine getting the job done - no one else in the picture. And that is cool. I can live with that.
Q: But you were penalised…
NR: It was disappointing after the race to lose one position, that’s true. But this is Formula One - a fast-moving world - and that was already two weeks ago. And if it weren’t for your question I would not remember it anymore! (laughs)
Q: You would remember it…
NR: Of course I would. But we are working on it, to do a better job next time - within the rules.
Q: You and your team mate Lewis Hamilton are putting on the best ‘frenemy’ show in a long time - probably since the famous Senna-Prost rivalry…
NR: Ha, at least there are some positives in it…
Q: …but it is hard to say from the outside what is real friction and what is just for show. Nevertheless we are watching it with curiosity…
NR: That is good to hear! (laughs) Believe me: not much of it is for show, that is for sure. We are racing out there - two pure passionate racers wanting to win the race, the title, and the laurels!
Q: And after the race? Do you sit down and laugh about all those you’ve taken for a ride? The perfect Nico and Lewis show?
NR: No show!
Q: So you are both natural talents?
NR: In what?
Q: In the art of Formula One entertainment…
NR: You do what you can.
Q: Every driver says he wants a strong team mate. But would anybody really want to have a Lewis Hamilton in the next garage?
NR: Look at it this way: to beat him gives me the biggest thrill. That is the most exciting race win I can get, beating him in a straight fight. He is the world champion - he’s the guy to beat. And that is what it is all about: the challenge, the battle, and the win. That’s where the adrenalin comes from.
Q: But wouldn’t it be better to have him two garages away? In another team?
NR: It is good like it is.
Q: How often have you felt lately that you got the raw end of the deal?
NR: No raw deal at all. You have to accept that there is no ‘clean sailing’ ever in F1. To date - from all drivers on the grid - I have had the best season. That is a fact and I am happy about that. Of course I want to win every time - no question. And I am only focusing on wins - and not on points. People forget that these are two different pairs of shoes.
Q: Statistically you have indeed had the best season so far, so the paddock’s short-term memory must be frustrating - the view that you are only as good as your last race…
NR: Yes, the media can be annoying sometimes. Let’s put it that way.
Q: Has your rise to success made you more hard-nosed? How does the Nico Rosberg who started out in F1 11 years ago compare to the Nico Rosberg of today?
NR: Phew… big changes! Big progress as a human being, big progress as a racing driver, progress in my understanding of how this little F1 world turns. I am pleased to see all that progress.
Q: So are you more hard-nosed?
NR: Well, it’s a bit of a shark tank here, so you better get thick-skinned immediately. Actually, you better learn that very quickly and find you own passage through it. But you also have so many inspirational people here…
Q: But that doesn’t sound like friendship? Is this the ‘wrong pond’ for those ‘fishing for friendship’?
NR: In this environment friendship is indeed hard to find - but probably you are also not looking for it. There is so much at stake here - with money, prestige, ego, the public and knowing that the eyes of the world are on you…
Q: So on a scale of one to ten where would you position your ego?
NR: I am probably not so much aware of ego - I think I have to change that! I am working on it.
Q: You said that Lewis’ winning streak doesn’t get to you. But a one-point lead is the tightest possible margin. Where do you get your ‘soul food’ to stay calm? Lewis has said that he is very religious…
NR: I didn’t say it in quite those words. And let me counter: I have had the best season of all the drivers so far - and I have the best car - so there’s not much to feel bad about. I have the opportunity to win again here in Hungary because our car is awesome. So there you go.
Q: A one-point lead is a pretty slim margin…
NR: Yes, but it is better than zero! (laughs) I started the season at zero.
Q: Lewis said that he finds his calm in religion. Where do you get yours?
NR: From my family. I get so much happiness from them. But also here in the paddock from driving, from great results together with my team - and from interesting people that I meet here.
Q: Has being a dad for almost a year changed you?
NR: Yes. I am more conscious about the future. I want to provide the best possible future for my daughter - long term. That is on my mind. But then in the racing, it hasn’t changed anything. When I am racing I don’t think much about my family - in the evenings and mornings yes, of course, but not at the track. Then I am fully focused. I can divide between my left and right brain hemisphere. But what influence it has is that I arrive at the track more happy.
Q: Certain people have said lately that they would bet money on Lewis doing it again this year…
NR: …like who?
Q: Bernie Ecclestone…
NR: Ha, here we go again! Well, in this case it gives me a great opportunity to show that even those most profoundly adapted to Formula One can get it wrong once in a while! (laughs)