• Latest
  • Trending
Schumacher was “psychological warrior” – Rosberg

Schumacher was “psychological warrior” – Rosberg

May 18, 2020
“We’ve got to keep chipping away”: Van Gisbergen reflects on victory streak and big title lead

“We’ve got to keep chipping away”: Van Gisbergen reflects on victory streak and big title lead

February 28, 2021
Watch: Shane van Gisbergen makes perfect start, claims second Mount Panorama win

Watch: Shane van Gisbergen makes perfect start, claims second Mount Panorama win

February 28, 2021
Watch: Shane van Gisbergen claims pole after dramatic Bathurst 500 shootout

Watch: Shane van Gisbergen claims pole after dramatic Bathurst 500 shootout

February 28, 2021
Speed Works Events confirm postponement of Pukekohe event due to Auckland lockdown

Speed Works Events confirm postponement of Pukekohe event due to Auckland lockdown

February 28, 2021
Cassidy demoted from fifth to 14th after post-race penalty

Cassidy demoted from fifth to 14th after post-race penalty

February 28, 2021
Evans recounts his role in “aeroplane crash”

Evans recounts his role in “aeroplane crash”

February 28, 2021
Cassidy storms to fifth as scary crash ends Formula E race early

Cassidy storms to fifth as scary crash ends Formula E race early

February 28, 2021
Van Gisbergen opens Supercars championship account with win

Van Gisbergen opens Supercars championship account with win

February 27, 2021
Waters beats Slade for pole

Waters beats Slade for pole

February 27, 2021
De Pasquale on provisional pole, van Gisbergen makes shootout

De Pasquale on provisional pole, van Gisbergen makes shootout

February 27, 2021
Cassidy to come out fighting after tough Formula E opener

Cassidy to come out fighting after tough Formula E opener

February 27, 2021
Monday, March 1, 2021
VelocityNews
Classifieds
Subscribe
No Result
View All Result
VelocityNews
No Result
View All Result

Schumacher was “psychological warrior” – Rosberg

by Josh Revell
May 18, 2020
in Formula 1, International, News
0

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

Cassidy demoted from fifth to 14th after post-race penalty

Evans recounts his role in “aeroplane crash”

Nico Rosberg says former team-mate Michael Schumacher was a “psychological warrior” who would do anything to gain a mental edge over his young rival.

Rosberg signed with the newly-formed Mercedes works F1 team for the 2010 season after having initiated a takeover of the championship-winning Brawn GP outfit.

Rumours abound Nick Heidfeld was to partner Rosberg, only for Schumacher to announce his return from retirement.

Speaking on Nico Rosberg’s YouTube channel, the 2016 world champion commented on how Schumacher’s announcement came as a shock.

“The name Schumacher was not even on the horizon; no-one was even talking about that. And then suddenly Ross [Brawn] calls me and says: ‘By the way, your teammate is not going to be Jenson Button or Nick Heidfeld, it’s going to be Michael Schumacher’.

“I was like oh my God, [having the] craziest thoughts, that I would have no chance, that the whole team would go against me, that Michael would manipulate his way through.

“And also, I don’t even know, can I keep up with him? He’s the greatest of all-time, do I even have a chance? That was pretty crazy moment.”

Rosberg would beat Schumacher in each of their three seasons together as team-mates and would score the sole victory between them at the 2012 Chinese Grand Prix.

However, Rosberg found it difficult to have his voice heard within the team due to the seven-time world champion’s presence.

“When Michael came along, he was like God in the team. When we had some strategy meetings, even my strategy was only being discussed with Michael and not with me, even though I was sitting there.

“So I then addressed that to the strategist that was holding those meetings, and we reflected on that together, and it really had a big impact, and from then on, strategy meetings were much better than for me.

“I felt much more comfortable, and I did get that attention from him just by showing my invulnerability in the end and expressing my feelings.”

Rosberg said Schumacher was a “psychological warrior”, employing tactics to gain a mental edge over his opponents.

“There are so many examples, the Monaco bathroom for example.

“Five minutes before qualifying, there’s only one bathroom in the garage. He knows that I’m standing outside. I’m knocking like crazy, telling whoever is in there to please get out because I’m panicking, I need to pee before qualifying.

“He’s in there, just looking at his watch, chilling, knowing he’s going to create more and more stress in my mind, and then with one minute to go, he walks out all chilled out, and is like: ‘Oh sorry, I didn’t know you were there!’ By this time, I’m in full panic mode.

“It just went on. There was another example where he would love to walk around topless in the engineering room, show his six-pack because it was another statement of strength to impress everybody who is there. His body was pretty sculptured.

“It just went on and on. There were infinite examples like that.”

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

“We’ve got to keep chipping away”: Van Gisbergen reflects on victory streak and big title lead

Watch: Shane van Gisbergen makes perfect start, claims second Mount Panorama win

Watch: Shane van Gisbergen claims pole after dramatic Bathurst 500 shootout

Speed Works Events confirm postponement of Pukekohe event due to Auckland lockdown

Cassidy demoted from fifth to 14th after post-race penalty

Evans recounts his role in “aeroplane crash”

Bringing you the latest motorsport news in New Zealand and around the world

Managing editor and publisher:
Mark Petch mark@velocitynews.co.nz

Motorsport Editor:
Matthew Hansen matt@velocitynews.co.nz

Motorsport Editor:
Alex Schultz alex@velocitynews.co.nz

Motor Racing Editor:
Zane Shackleton zane@velocitynews.co.nz

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact Us

© 2020 VelocityNews - Independent New Zealand and International Motorsport news.

No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • International
      • Formula 1
      • Formula 2
      • Formula 3
      • Formula E
      • Esports
      • Super GT
      • Super Formula
      • TCR
      • WEC
      • GT
      • Porsche Carrera Cup
      • BTCC
      • DTM
      • IMSA
      • IndyCar
      • NASCAR
      • WRC
      • MotoGP
      • Motorcycle Racing
      • Classic
    • New Zealand
      • Toyota Race Series
      • Toyota 86
      • Rally
      • Speedway
      • Drifting
      • Formula Ford
      • Formula First
      • TCR NZ
      • TransTasman V8 Series
      • V8 Utes
      • GTRNZ
      • Central Muscle Cars
      • Pirelli Porsche
      • Mazda Racing Series
      • NIERDC
      • SIERDC
      • SsangYong Utes
      • Kartsport
      • NZ General
    • Australia
      • Supercars
      • Super2
      • Australian V8 Touring Car Series
      • S5000
      • Australian GT
      • TCR AU
    • General
  • Features
    • Features
    • Opinion
    • Profile
    • Race Cars
  • Calendar
  • Results
  • Velocity TV
  • Performance Cars
  • Classifieds
    • Classifieds
    • Post Classified
    • Manage your listings
  • Jobs
    • Jobs
    • Post a Job
    • Job Dashboard

© 2020 VelocityNews - Independent New Zealand and International Motorsport news.