After taking the championship battle down to the season finale in Abu Dhabi last season, Nico Rosberg has helped reveal the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 W06 Hybrid at the Circuito de Jerez and admits he is motivated for the rematch with his World Champion team-mate Lewis Hamilton in 2015.
Rosberg admits it was hard to lose the championship in the final round last season, but will turn that disappointment of missing out on the title into motivation as he does not want to feel that way again.
“I am eager to get back to work and go maximum attack for another season,” insisted Rosberg. “I know the feeling of winning and of fighting for a Championship after last year – but I also know the feeling of not winning in the end and I don’t want to repeat that. It’s an extra boost and it gives me so much motivation for the year ahead.”
He feels proud to be a part of the team and hopes the domination of 2014 can continue in 2015, although he is cautious knowing the other teams will be doing everything they can to beat them this year.
“I’m so proud to be in this moment with the team – coming off the back of a fantastic year, putting the Silver Arrows right back at the front where they belong,” said Rosberg. “It will be massively tough to repeat what we achieved in 2014 but we all want to keep that momentum going and to dominate the sport for many years to come.
“We know the opposition will be right there, so we have to keep pushing flat out to have any chance of doing that. Nothing is for certain but, whatever happens, I know it will be another great battle with Lewis. This year is the rematch for me and I’m massively motivated for it.”
Rosberg feels excited about this time of the year when the new car gets launched, and is looking forward to seeing what the F1 W06 Hybrid can do on track this week. He admits to knowing a lot about the new car from the factory, but nothing comes close to feeling what the car can do on track.
“It’s always a really exciting time around the launch – getting to drive the car for the first time, having our first insight into what’s new, how it feels, how hard we can push straight away,” revealed Rosberg. “Then getting into what the set-up parameters are doing, making a few changes, getting a feel for how it behaves.
“I know so much about the new car from my time at the factory – but only on paper. Getting out there and driving it properly in testing will be an awesome feeling. This is where we build our experience and knowledge for the first race and it’s so important to get that baseline right.
“Melbourne is a long way off but I’m feeling good in myself and confident in this team because, to put it simply, they’re just an awesome group of people to work with.”
