Rosberg: I was never a Schumacher fan

Former Formula 1 world champion Nico Rosberg has admitted that he was never a Michael Schumacher fan growing up, as Mika Hakkinen was always the driver he admired.

Rosberg is the son of 1982 world champion Keke Rosberg and his German wife Sina, meaning that he is half-Finnish-half-German. As a result of his father’s nationality and his own dual nationality, Rosberg subsequently became a fan of another Finn, Hakkinen, instead of Schumacher, but did hold him as a figure of inspiration.

"Schumacher was a huge inspiration for an entire generation,” the 2016 champion told WELT.

“His dedication to the sport, his passion and commitment were phenomenal. However, I was rooting for his opponent, Mika Hakkinen. So I was not the Schumacher fan growing up.”

The 34-year-old would later partner with Schumacher later in his career with Mercedes, and it would be there that he would begin to appreciate the work-ethic and talent of the seven-time world champion.

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“As a teammate, I learned so much from him,” he continued.

“That certainly helped me to become world champion myself later. I mainly learnt how to gain respect within a team. What position you have to take and how to be a 'team player'.

“Those are the most important things I learned from him.”

The pair would be team-mates for two years before Schumacher announced his retirement for the second time.

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