Rosberg says father urged him to flee Schumacher
"You have to get out of there as quickly as possible"
Nico Rosberg has revealed that his father Keke urged him to leave Mercedes as soon as Michael Schumacher was confirmed as his teammate for 2010.
Rosberg told Der Spiegel that Schumacher’s arrival came as a major shock after he had only recently joined Mercedes from Williams.
"That was a total shock!" the 2016 world champion said.
"The greatest of all time, the untouchable, the one no one could ever beat. Crazy - I was really scared."
Rosberg admitted he might even have reconsidered joining Mercedes had he known Schumacher would be there.
"Perhaps I would have declined with thanks, because my father would have vehemently advised against it," said the German.
When Schumacher’s comeback was confirmed, Keke Rosberg’s reaction was immediate.
"He said: ’You have to get out of there as quickly as possible.’"
"That was his exact wording: ’Get out of there, as quickly as possible.’"
Rosberg said his father was wary because of what he had seen while managing JJ Lehto, Schumacher’s Benetton teammate in 1994.
"Michael had already built the entire team around his own vision, very cleverly and purposefully," said the 41-year-old.
Rosberg said he soon experienced something similar at Mercedes.
"First, our strategy chief discussed the race strategy for Michael with Michael," he recalled. "Then he explained my strategy to Michael."
"I sat next to him. I felt like I didn’t even exist."
Despite that, Rosberg finished ahead of Schumacher in the championship in each of their three seasons together.