Commentary
Formula 1
Rosberg writes off 2012 title hopes
GMM
Edited: Sep 19, 2012, 12:48 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Sep.19 (GMM) Nico Rosberg has counted himself out of the running for the 2012 world championship.
Nico Rosberg, Mercedes AMG F1
Photo by: xpb.cc
Earlier this year, his Mercedes teammate Michael Schumacher acknowledged that he is already out of the hunt for an eighth drivers' crown.
But fellow German Rosberg was much higher in the points standings, having broken through for his first pole and victory in Shanghai.
Mercedes, however, has struggled since then, with Rosberg finishing second at Monaco but thereafter managing a highest finish of just sixth place.
The 27-year-old is now seventh in the drivers' standings, almost 100 points off Fernando Alonso's lead with seven races to go.
"For us," Rosberg told DAPD news agency, "the season has been decided in the sense that we know we cannot win the championship now."
Mathematically, however, the German can still win the championship, if he scores almost 14 points on average more than Ferrari's Alonso in every race until late November's Brazil finale.
Rosberg does, however, think it is possible for defending champion Sebastian Vettel to leap from fourth to first in the standings, "because Red Bull has a strong car".
He admits that Alonso is the clear favourite.
"The others behind him make mistakes, or their cars break down, while he is the most consistent driver. He has a good chance to be world champion."
But Rosberg does not think the Spaniard can yet be counted among the sport's best of all time.
"Schumacher, Senna, Fangio -- that's it," he said.
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Rosberg rules out McLaren switch for 2013
Next article Vettel not 'afraid' to be Alonso's teammate
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
GMM
The season is still very long - Rosberg
Formula 1
Formula 1
The season is still very long - Rosberg
Jules Bianchi's father speaks of family's continued hopes
Formula 1
Formula 1
Jules Bianchi's father speaks of family's continued hopes
Sauber under no illusions about constructors' position
Formula 1
Formula 1
Chinese GP
Sauber under no illusions about constructors' position
More from
Fernando Alonso
“Am I confident? Probably not” – The unprecedented challenge Singapore is throwing at F1 drivers
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
“Am I confident? Probably not” – The unprecedented challenge Singapore is throwing at F1 drivers
Fernando Alonso set for Dakar Rally comeback with Aston Martin
Dakar
Dakar
Fernando Alonso set for Dakar Rally comeback with Aston Martin
More from
Ferrari
Ferrari promotes F2 racer to F1 reserve driver role
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Ferrari promotes F2 racer to F1 reserve driver role
The six drivers doing double duty in Portimao GTWCE and Barcelona WEC this weekend
WEC
WEC
Barcelona
The six drivers doing double duty in Portimao GTWCE and Barcelona WEC this weekend
Latest news
Barcelona set to host IndyCar race in 2027 under multi-year deal
IndyCar
Indy IndyCar 5 h
Barcelona set to host IndyCar race in 2027 under multi-year deal
Winners and losers from a Chase-altering NASCAR Cup race at Phoenix
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Phoenix II
7 h
Winners and losers from a Chase-altering NASCAR Cup race at Phoenix
Heart of Racing rules Valkyrie GTP step next year ‘too soon’ for IMSA standout Barrichello
IMSA
IMSA IMSA 7 h
Heart of Racing rules Valkyrie GTP step next year ‘too soon’ for IMSA standout Barrichello
Sergio Perez: Debut Cadillac season "without a doubt one of my best years"
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
7 h
Sergio Perez: Debut Cadillac season "without a doubt one of my best years"
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe