Keke Rosberg emerged on the Formula One scene in 1978 at the age of 29. He drove for the Theodore team and recorded an early success in the rain drenched Daily Express International Trophy race at Silverstone. Rosberg kept his car on track to win while other more established drivers crashed out. He had spells with ATS and Wolf following the demise of the Theodore team and then moved on to Fittipaldiin 1981. All of these early drives were with uncompetitive machinery and Rosberg failed to achieve anything of note. He was fortunate to secure a drive with Williams in 1982 following the departure of Alan Jones and immediately began to show his considerable potential becoming a consistent points scorer and recording his first Grand Prix win at the Swiss GP held at Dijon-Prenois. Rosberg went on to win the drivers championship benefitting from his consistent driving and a reliable Williams car. Several unproductive seasons followed and Rosberg left to join McLaren for the 1985 season, leaving unfortunately for him just as Williams had begun to see results from its partnership with Honda that would ultimately be to the benefit of Nelson Piquet and Nigel Mansell. One highlight of Rosberg's time at McLaren was his superb fastest ever lap of Silverstone at over 160 mph in qualifying for the 1985 British Grand Prix. Rosberg's time at McLaren was difficult and he was outperformed by Alain Prost, as ever with F1, timing is everything and with hindsight Rosberg jumped ship from Williams at precisely the wrong time. He retired from F1 at the end of the 1986 season.
Nationality - Finnish
Born 6 Dec 1948
First GP S Africa 1978
Total GP's 114
Wins 5
Poles 5
Fastest laps 3
Total points 159
Teams
ATS
Fittipaldi
McLaren
Theodore
Williams
Wolf
Claim to fame
World Champion
1982
