Yahoo Finance Nico Rosberg: I’d have found Drive To Survive ‘horrible’ and ‘a disaster’
Nico Rosberg on why he would have hated Drive to Survive film crews during his Formula 1 championship-winning racing career, who can rival Max Verstappen, and owning a team in Extreme E.
One thing Formula 1 drivers in past eras didn’t need to contend with was having film crews everywhere they went. Sure, big stars have always had cameras in their peripheral vision, but they knew they were there.
In today’s world of Netflix and Drive to Survive, the series credited with bringing a new generation of fans to F1, peace and quiet is impossible. Every argument, expression and comment is now captured in 4k definition for fans to drool, fight and disagree over.
Nico Rosberg, the 2016 world champion, insists, however, that the idea of Netflix being around in his winning season would have been hellish.
“No, no, no, that would be horrible,” he tells City A.M. “That would have been horrible because it would have taken concentration away from me actually winning the championship. That would have been a disaster.
“What F1 did so well with Netflix is that it’s a reality TV show. They got lucky that select individuals like Guenther Steiner [Haas team principal] or some of the team bosses really accepted to be real, even taking the risks associated with that.
“Formula 1 has had an incredible increase in viewership thanks to social media and Netflix which has been phenomenal, but also thanks to the new generation, which is a very exciting generation.
“That’s been great to see and all of us are tagging along in that a little bit but [electric off-road racing series] Extreme E still needs to find other ways to generate audiences and grow.”
Rosberg’s Extreme E team picked up a second world championship inside three seasons last week and Rosberg X Racing, sponsored by IG Prime, now dominates the sport.
It’s the former racer’s first venture into management, a path well trodden by the likes of Red Bull boss Christian Horner – albeit not in Formula 1 – and McLaren director Zak Brown.
But Extreme E, with its onus on saving the planet, means Rosberg can be a boss away from the track. And it is something he is keen to continue.
“Extreme E is my kind of start as a team boss and owner, it’s been a very successful first three-year journey,” the 38-year-old added.
“My problem is that I’m not ready to dedicate my life to a project like that ever again, as I did as a racing driver, because I appreciate my time at home too much – time with my kids and my wife and my family.
“Life after racing has been a journey of discovery because it was crystal clear before.
“I know that I want to be involved in something that contributes to society, which is why we are doing Extreme E, and which is why I have Rosberg Philanthropies.”
Rosberg’s F1 title winning season saw him pip teammate Lewis Hamilton to the championship by just five points.
The Mercedes duo played out a brilliant and vibrant rivalry with both drivers edging ahead in the championship throughout the season.
But that wasn’t the case in this year’s championship, with Max Verstappen winning 19 of the 22 races on the calendar and amassing enough points to win the championship by more points than his nearest rival, teammate Sergio Perez, got all season.
“We have to know that it’s not really the dominance of a team, it’s the dominance of a driver,” Rosberg says. “If you look at where Sergio Perez was, he was all over the place.
“We just have to respect that the performance from Verstappen is historic and the greatest seasonal performance of all time. And he’s already easily nearing to be a top five driver of all time. It’s phenomenal.
“I do hope that other teams or drivers can give Verstappen a run for his money.
“I expect people like Lewis and George [Russell, Mercedes] to be the best candidates, and of course McLaren if they’re able to continue their progress.
“I mean there’s Lando Norris [as a potential world champion], there’s George and Charles Leclerc.”
Rosberg left F1 as a racer following his title victory and seemingly hasn’t looked back. He makes appearances as a pundit and has started looking at a long-term life beyond motorsport.
But how long, though, despite the German claiming it would be his nightmare, until there’s a Rosberg documentary? Don’t bet against it.
