{"id":26964,"date":"2025-07-28T07:46:03","date_gmt":"2025-07-28T07:46:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/26964\/"},"modified":"2025-07-28T07:46:03","modified_gmt":"2025-07-28T07:46:03","slug":"who-slept-best-last-night-nico-rosberg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/26964\/","title":{"rendered":"Who slept best last night: Nico Rosberg"},"content":{"rendered":"

When the most insightful Formula 1 reporter in Spa is a former racing driver, it says a lot about the current state of an entire profession \u2013 or rather, how dire things have become in terms of critical journalism. Especially in a paddock increasingly flooded by a phenomenon called \u2018influencer\u2019.<\/p>\n

And let\u2019s be honest \u2013 if something sounds like a disease, it could certainly act like one.<\/p>\n

Still, it’s merely a symptom of a broader zeitgeist that, in 2025, doesn\u2019t stop at the gates of the F1 paddock. People who are enthusiastic about everything \u2013 as long as they\u2019re allowed inside \u2013 are far easier to manage. They\u2019re more compliant when PR handlers want to dictate not just headlines but entire stories. They don\u2019t push back when teams deny access to press briefings or even resort to legal action against unwelcome reporting.<\/p>\n

And yet, there seems to remain one small, defiant village in this largely occupied F1 empire \u2013 a flicker of hope. Fittingly, the figure who embodies that resistance sports a hairstyle reminiscent of Cacofonix, the long-haired bard from Asterix, who routinely gets gagged so no one has to listen to him.<\/p>\n

A sentiment that many of the once-proud voices of critical F1 journalism can relate to. It’s telling that, in their place, it’s now Nico Rosberg<\/a> \u2013 in his role as TV pundit \u2013 who dares to ask the uncomfortable questions. It helps, of course, that Rosberg quite simply doesn\u2019t give a damn \u2013 which may be why more than one paddock personality in Spa probably wished they had a gag to hand.<\/p>\n

Exhibit A: Jos Verstappen<\/a>. On the starting grid with Sky Sports F1 on his UK broadcasting duties, Rosberg confronts him directly over his past criticism of Red Bull team principal Christian Horner: \u201cLast year, you said Horner had to go because he was destroying the team,\u201d Rosberg begins.<\/p>\n

\"Lando <\/p>\n

Lando Norris, McLaren, 3rd position, is interviewed by Nico Rosberg, Sky Sports F1, after the Sprint race<\/p>\n

Photo by: Andy Hone \/ Motorsport Images<\/p>\n

Verstappen shrugs, interrupting him: \u201cThat was a year and a half ago. So, it’s different,\u201d he says, adding, \u201cI\u2019ve got nothing to say. It\u2019s fine.\u201d Rosberg presses on: \u201cNow you\u2019re quiet?\u201d Verstappen leans forward, confused. Rosberg repeats: \u201cYou\u2019re quiet now?\u201d \u201cI\u2019m always quiet,\u201d Verstappen snaps back \u2013 clearly irritated.<\/p>\n

The awkward exchange is just the opening act. Rosberg continues firing off uncomfortable questions left and right. His next target: his own Mercedes<\/a> successor, Valtteri Bottas<\/a>. \u201cNew deal with Cadillac?\u201d he asks bluntly. Bottas plays deaf: \u201cI can\u2019t hear you.\u201d Rosberg insists: \u201cSo just rumours, yeah?\u201d Bottas, again evasive: \u201cThere are a lot of rumours in this sport.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even current drivers like Lando Norris<\/a> and Andrea Kimi Antonelli<\/a> don\u2019t escape unscathed. More and more, Rosberg has become the kind of pundit he himself \u2013 back in his racing days \u2013 would probably have hated: brutally honest, relentlessly persistent, unafraid of confrontation. He puts his finger on every wound with the precision of someone who knows exactly what he\u2019s talking about \u2013 because he\u2019s been there.<\/p>\n

Norris, who had another error-strewn afternoon, becomes the subject of Rosberg\u2019s post-race critique: \u201cHe was half asleep when the race restarted,\u201d Rosberg says, dissecting the Brit\u2019s performance. \u201cAnd later on, he made three more mistakes \u2013 the kind of errors a Hamilton or Verstappen simply wouldn\u2019t make.\u201d All this while McLaren<\/a> boss Zak Brown is standing right next to him. Rosberg, undeterred, turns to him cheekily: \u201cYou saw that too, didn\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n

Read Also:<\/p>\n

Rosberg doesn\u2019t hold back with his former team Mercedes either \u2013 nor with rookie Antonelli, even though the young Italian once drove for Rosberg\u2019s own karting team and received financial support from him. Rosberg\u2019s verdict is blunt: Antonelli has \u201cdefinitely allowed himself a few too many distractions this year.\u201d His evidence? In Imola, for instance, the teenager welcomed a visit from the local football club \u2013 and even some of his schoolmates.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to cut all of that out \u2013 completely. Zero. Take it all down to zero,\u201d Rosberg demands. \u201cIt\u2019s just you and your team. Go race. That\u2019s it.\u201d And Rosberg speaks from experience: in 2016, that same monk-like detachment and ruthless focus on the essentials gave him the final push he needed to clinch the world title.<\/p>\n

\"Nico <\/p>\n

Nico Rosberg, Sky F1, on the grid<\/p>\n

Photo by: Mark Sutton<\/p>\n

\u201cNo friends, no family \u2013 leave them all at home. Leave behind anything that distracts you. Prepare with the team, get in the simulator, double your sim time at the factory. Just preparation, preparation, preparation. That\u2019s the best thing he can do,\u201d Rosberg insists.<\/p>\n

Whether this kind of stern, old-school advice \u2013 and the sharp tone he often takes \u2013 wins him many friends is doubtful. But frankly, Rosberg doesn\u2019t seem to care. A perfect example? His former team boss, Toto Wolff. Even when it comes to the Austrian and his ongoing contract talks with George Russell<\/a>, Rosberg can\u2019t resist letting us in on a little secret.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s horrible negotiating with Toto \u2013 because his tactic is to just disappear,\u201d laughs the former Mercedes driver. \u201cSo if you\u2019re George now trying to get hold of him, Toto\u2019s already gone. He even knows how to avoid the blue ticks.\u201d Apparently, no special WhatsApp settings required for the Silver Arrows\u2019 team boss.<\/p>\n

With a grin, Rosberg adds: \u201cAs soon as your message pops up on his screen, he\u2019ll only read the first few words and won\u2019t even open it properly. I remember that well from my time \u2013 it was always his style: vanish, don\u2019t reply, be unreachable. And that\u2019s horrible, because it gives you no chance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rosberg certainly knows how to offer compelling insights from behind the curtain \u2013 into the inner workings of an F1 team. What helps, of course, is that he\u2019s still deeply connected in the paddock and that his own driving days weren\u2019t all that long ago. He raced against many of today\u2019s stars \u2013 and clearly still knows exactly how the game is played.<\/p>\n

But perhaps even more important than Rosberg\u2019s technical expertise is his integrity \u2013 his clarity of opinion, his directness, and his ability to speak his mind without, unlike some of his fellow pundits, constantly putting himself in the spotlight.<\/p>\n

\"Martin <\/p>\n

Martin Brundle, Nico Rosberg and Simon Lazenby<\/p>\n

Photo by: Mark Sutton \/ Motorsport Images<\/p>\n

His deliberate refusal to play along with the increasingly sanitised rules of F1\u2019s tightly-managed media circus is refreshing. Rosberg is finally asking the uncomfortable questions. That said, it\u2019s only fair to acknowledge that Rosberg\u2019s status as a world champion certainly helps. It elevates him beyond doubt, giving his voice an authority in almost any discussion.<\/p>\n

There was, however, one moment in recent years when Rosberg himself clashed with F1\u2019s many unwritten rules \u2013 quite literally finding himself excluded: during the COVID years, when strict F1 protocols suddenly barred the former world champion from the paddock. He was forced to dial in remotely, standing outside the gates with a small TV crew like an outcast on the fringes of the great circus.<\/p>\n

Sky stuck with their most valued expert \u2013 and rightly so. Rosberg\u2019s multilingualism allows him to switch effortlessly between international broadcasts, making him even more valuable to the network.<\/p>\n

Still, Rosberg\u2019s rise in the world of television hasn\u2019t come without its cost. This writer experienced this firsthand at last year\u2019s season finale in Abu Dhabi. After an enjoyable private chat with him and Augusto Farfus \u2013 whom I know well from DTM \u2013 I asked Nico if I could record a few quotes from him. He politely but firmly declined: \u201cI don\u2019t do print anymore.\u201d The message was clear: he was done with the written press.<\/p>\n

It was a surprising development, but in hindsight, so be it. If journalism truly is in decline in this age of TikTok, AI, and clickbait \u2013 then so be it. Long live Rosberg on TV. As long as he keeps delivering like he did on Sunday in Spa, we will all be better for it.<\/p>\n

Photos from Belgian GP – Race<\/p>\n

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In this article<\/p>\n

Be the first to know and subscribe for real-time news email updates on these topics<\/p>\n

Subscribe to news alerts<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When the most insightful Formula 1 reporter in Spa is a former racing driver, it says a lot…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":26965,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[573],"tags":[64,63,814,817,19752,813,816,85],"class_list":["post-26964","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-belgian-gp","tag-f1","tag-f1-belgian-grand-prix-2025","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26964","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26964"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26964\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26965"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26964"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26964"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26964"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}