Keke Rosberg


Keijo Erik Rosberg, known as "Keke", is a Finnish former racing driver and winner of the Formula One World Championship. He was the first Finnish driver to compete regularly in the series. He is also the father of 2016 Formula One World Champion Nico Rosberg.

Early life

Rosberg was born on 6 December 1948 in Solna, Stockholm County in Sweden, where his father studied veterinary science. Rosberg's father Lars Rosberg and mother Lea Lautala were both natives of Hamina, Finland. The family moved back to Finland in the spring of 1950, originally settling in Lapinjärvi and later moving to Hamina, Oulu and Iisalmi.

Formula One career

Minor teams: 1978–1981

Rosberg had a relatively late start to his F1 career, debuting at the age of 29 after stints in Formula Vee, Formula Atlantic and its antipodean counterpart Formula Pacific and Formula Two, then "feeder" series to Formula One. He raced for Fred Opert, his American patron. His first Formula One drive was with the Theodore team during the 1978 season. He immediately caught the attention of the Formula One paddock with a superb drive in the non-Championship BRDC International Trophy at Silverstone in just his second race with the team, emerging victorious after many of the big names had been caught out by a tremendous downpour. Rosberg was not able to qualify for a race afterwards, and was signed by another uncompetitive team, ATS, for three races after the Theodore team scrapped its unreliable car design. He returned to Theodore after they acquired chassis from the Wolf Formula One team, but these were also uncompetitive and Rosberg returned to ATS to end the season.
He next emerged with the Wolf team, midway through the 1979 season. However, the team was having difficulty staying solvent, and Rosberg had problems in finishing races. Rosberg soon had to change teams again when Wolf left Formula One, and signed with Fittipaldi Automotive which had bought the remains of Walter Wolf's squad. He secured his first two point-scoring results in the 1980 season, including a sensational podium at the season-opening race at Buenos Aires, but the uncompetitiveness of the Fittipaldi car meant that Rosberg often failed to finish or qualify. 1981 was worse as he failed to score at all.

The sharp end – Williams: 1982–1985

Despite this, Williams was interested in Rosberg, with the retirement of World Champion Alan Jones leaving a seat open for the 1982 season. Given a competitive car, Rosberg had a highly successful year. He consistently scored points and earned his first victory in the Swiss Grand Prix at Dijon-Prenois late that year.
Rosberg's first memorable season came in a year where no driver won more than two races. With Ferrari's season marred by the death of Gilles Villeneuve at Zolder, the career-ending injuries to Didier Pironi at Hockenheim and the turbocharged Brabham-BMW and Renault cars suffering from poor reliability, consistency won Rosberg the Drivers' Championship, despite his Williams FW07C using the normally aspirated Ford DFY V8 engine which was considered outdated and out-matched against the vastly more powerful turbo cars. Rosberg won the championship with a five-point gap to Didier Pironi, with the latter missing the last four races of the championship due to injuries sustained at the German Grand Prix. Rosberg's 1982 Championship proved to be the last World Championship win for the old Cosworth DFV engine which had been introduced to F1 by Lotus in . To celebrate the victory, Frank Williams gave Rosberg two days off from testing and allowed him to smoke in the team mobile home.
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Rosberg's post-championship years would be hamstrung by both uncompetitive chassis from Williams, and the powerful but unreliable Honda turbo engine. For his title defense in, Rosberg was again using the reliable Ford DFY V8. However, by this time, Ferrari, Renault and BMW had got their act together and the reliability of their turbo engines was starting to match their speed and power output. Rosberg still put his Williams FW08 on pole for the opening race of the season in Brazil, and then won both the non-championship Race of Champions at Brands Hatch and in Monaco thanks to a choice of slicks at the start when all others started on wets, but it was increasingly obvious that without a turbo charged engine, results would be scarce. To that end, Frank Williams concluded a deal to run the Honda V6 turbo engine in his cars. Honda had come back into Formula One that year with the Spirit team and results had been slow with unreliability, but they were enthusiastic about joining Williams who had a reputation as a Championship-winning team. Rosberg and teammate Jacques Laffite first got their Honda turbos in the season ending South African Grand Prix at Kyalami and immediately the new Williams FW09 was on the pace. Rosberg finished in 5th place to give him 5th place in the championship. During the year, Rosberg earned the title "King of the atmospherics".
Despite good power from the Honda engines, Williams and Rosberg struggled in mostly due to the FW09B chassis not being rigid enough to handle the power delivery of the V6. The Finn managed to tame both the car and engine long enough to win the Dallas Grand Prix, but his only other podium for the year was a second at the season opener in Brazil. After a frustrating year he finished the championship in eighth place with 20.5 points.
In November 1984 following the F1 season, Rosberg, along with fellow F1 drivers Niki Lauda, Andrea de Cesaris and François Hesnault, travelled to Australia for the non-championship 1984 Australian Grand Prix at the Calder Park Raceway in Melbourne. Rosberg managed to qualify 4th in his Ralt RT4 Ford despite spending most of the day with fellow aviation enthusiast Lauda attending an air show at the nearby Essendon Airport. After an early race dice with Lauda and a clash with Terry Ryan while lapping the young Australian which put him off the short 1.609 km circuit, Rosberg went on to finish 2nd behind the Ralt RT4 Ford of Brazilian driver Roberto Moreno who won his 3rd Australian Grand Prix in 4 years.
would prove better for both Rosberg and Williams. The Finn had a new teammate in Nigel Mansell and the all carbon fibre Williams FW10 chassis was a big improvement over the FW09B. For the first few races the team used the 1984 engines until Honda introduced an upgraded version which improved power delivery, fuel economy and most importantly, reliability. Rosberg used the new engine to good effect, winning the Detroit Grand Prix and claiming pole in the next two races in France at the Paul Ricard Circuit and the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Rosberg's pole-winning lap at Silverstone created history when he lapped the 4.719 km circuit in 1:05.591 for an average speed of 259.01 km/h. This would remain the single fastest lap of a circuit in Formula One until broken by Williams driver Juan Pablo Montoya at the 2002 Italian Grand Prix at Monza.
Keke Rosberg's fifth and final Grand Prix victory came at the 1985 Australian Grand Prix on the brand new Adelaide Street Circuit. As it was the final race of the season, it was also Rosberg's final race for Williams. Keke gave the winners trophy to his race engineer, Frank Dernie. The win enhanced Rosberg's reputation as a "street fighter" as four of his five championship Grand Prix wins had all come on street circuits. Rosberg handled the 35°C heat better than most and won by 43 seconds from the Ligier Renaults of Jacques Laffite and Philippe Streiff.
Just as the Honda engine began producing regular results, Rosberg decided to leave Williams at the end of 1985 and signed for McLaren, winners of the 1984 and 1985 Drivers' and Constructors' championships. The Williams-Honda team would go on to dominate Grand Prix racing in and through.

The final year – McLaren: 1986

At the time, Rosberg's move to McLaren for the 1986 season had seemed a master stroke as they were the championship team of the previous two seasons, having done so in dominating fashion. However, the 1986 McLaren was now somewhat underpowered compared to its rivals, and Rosberg, was soundly beaten by teammate, 1985 World Champion Alain Prost. On top of that, the fatal crash of Rosberg's close friend Elio de Angelis while testing a Brabham at the Paul Ricard circuit in France in May 1986 deeply affected him and he retired at the end of the season. He would later claim that he retired "too soon".
Keke Rosberg dominated the final race of his Formula One career, the 1986 Australian Grand Prix, though he did not win. While holding a 30-second lead over Nelson Piquet, he had a rear tyre let go on lap 62. Thinking the noise from the back of his McLaren was engine related, he shut the engine off and pulled off the circuit, only to find when he got out and checked that all he needed to do was drive back to the pits to change tyres. However, he later revealed that he would never have won anyway, that he planned to give best to Alain Prost in the Frenchman's bid for back-to-back World Championships. As it turned out, Prost won the race and the title, and a lap after Rosberg's retirement Mansell suffered the same fate as his former teammate, though in much more spectacular fashion.
Rosberg, who had made up his mind in mid-1984 that he would only race for two more years, had no regrets about leaving Williams and joining McLaren at a time when the Honda engine was starting to come on strong, while the Porsche built TAG engine was starting to show its age. In an interview following his retirement announcement, Rosberg said that he was glad he left Williams when he did, stating that had he stayed with them he might have quit Formula One early in the 1986 season after Frank Williams' pre-season accident had left someone in a position of authority within the team who he said was one of the reasons he had decided to leave Williams, adding "We simply could not stand each other". While Rosberg did not name the person, it was generally believed to be Williams head designer and Technical Director Patrick Head, who had taken over the day-to-day running of the team while Frank Williams recovered from his accident.

After Formula One

In 1989 Rosberg made his comeback in the Spa 24 Hours in a Ferrari Mondial run by Moneytron, the same team that gave Rosberg's protégé JJ Lehto his debut in Formula One. Rosberg was a key element of Peugeot's extremely competitive sportscar squad in the early 1990s. But after two years with the marque and varied successes, he moved on to the German Touring Car Championship, the DTM, driving for Mercedes-Benz and Opel. Here he set up his own team, Team Rosberg, in 1995 and at the end of that year withdrew from driving to concentrate on running it.
Team Rosberg ran for another year in the DTM, until the series collapsed, and has been present in Formula BMW, German Formula Three, the Formula Three Euroseries and A1 GP since. Team Rosberg returned to the revived DTM in 2000, entering two Mercedes. Success, or even just scoring points, became harder with each passing season and Team Rosberg quit the series after their 2004 campaign, only to return in 2006, this time with Audi.

Manager of new talent

Rosberg later spent a long time managing his countrymen JJ Lehto and future world champion Mika Häkkinen. Until 2008, he also managed his son Nico who entered Formula One in 2006 driving for Williams F1. In 2013 he and Nico became the first father and son to both win at Monaco, 30 years apart from each other. In 2016, he and Nico became the second father son duo to both win Formula One World Championships, after Graham Hill and Damon Hill had won the Championships of 1962 & 1968 and 1996 respectively.

Helmet

In his karting years, Rosberg had a white helmet with a blue stripe, then, in F1, Sid Mosca painted Rosberg's helmet white with a blue circle on the top and the stripe was divided in a big blue rectangle covering the visor area with some blue rectangles behind. In 1984, the rectangles were replaced by a yellow trapezium. His son Nico used a design that had similarities to Keke's helmet earlier in his F1 career, with grey replacing blue and with flame motifs, before changing to a new design in 2014.

Racing record

Complete European Formula Two Championship results

YearEntrantChassisEngine12345678910111213Pts
Team Warsteiner EuroraceToj F201BMWHOC
Ret		THR
Ret		VAL
DNQ		SAL
13		PAUHOC
Ret		ROU
4		MUG
24		PER
DNQ		HOC
5		10th5
Fred Opert RacingChevron B35HartEST
Ret		NOG10th5
Fred Opert RacingChevron B35HartSIL
Ret		6th25
Fred Opert RacingChevron B40HartTHR
Ret		HOC
NÜR
VAL
12		PAU
11		MUG
Ret		ROUNOG
13		PER
1		MISEST
4		DON
2		6th25
Fred Opert RacingChevron B42HartTHR
Ret		HOC
NÜR
2		PAU
DNS		MUG
Ret		VAL
Ret		ROUDON
1		NOG
17		PERMISHOC5th16
Project Four RacingMarch 792BMWSILHOC
1		THRNÜR
Ret		VALMUGPAUHOCZANPERMISDON12th9

Complete Formula One World Championship results

YearEntrantChassisEngine12345678910111213141516Pts
1978Theodore Racing Hong KongTheodore TR1Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8ARGBRARSA
Ret		USW
DNPQ		MON
DNPQ		BEL
DNQ		ESP
DNPQ		NC0
1978ATS Racing TeamATS HS1Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8SWE
15		FRA
16		GBR
Ret		NC0
1978Theodore Racing Hong KongWolf WR3Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8GER
10		AUT
NC		NC0
1978Theodore Racing Hong KongWolf WR4Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8NED
Ret		ITA
DNPQ		NC0
1978ATS Racing TeamATS D1Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8USA
Ret		CAN
NC		NC0
1979Olympus Cameras Wolf RacingWolf WR8Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8ARGBRARSAUSWESPBELMONFRA
9		GER
Ret		ITA
Ret		USA
Ret		NC0
1979Olympus Cameras Wolf RacingWolf WR7Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8GBR
Ret		NC0
1979Olympus Cameras Wolf RacingWolf WR9Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8AUT
Ret		NED
Ret		CAN
DNQ		NC0
1980Skol Fittipaldi TeamFittipaldi F7Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8ARG
3		BRA
9		RSA
Ret		USW
Ret		BEL
7		MON
DNQ		FRA
Ret		GBR
DNQ		10th6
1980Skol Fittipaldi TeamFittipaldi F8Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8GER
Ret		AUT
16		NED
DNQ		ITA
5		CAN
9		USA
10		10th6
1981Fittipaldi AutomotiveFittipaldi F8CFord Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8USW
Ret		BRA
9		ARG
Ret		SMR
Ret		BEL
Ret		MON
DNQ		ESP
12		FRA
Ret		GBR
Ret		GER
DNQ		AUTNED
DNQ		ITA
DNQ		CAN
DNQ		CPL
10		NC0
1982TAG Williams TeamWilliams FW07CFord Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8RSA
5		BRA
DSQ		USW
2		SMR1st44
1982TAG Williams TeamWilliams FW08Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8BEL
2		MON
Ret		DET
4		CAN
Ret		NED
3		GBR
Ret		FRA
5		GER
3		AUT
2		SUI
1		ITA
8		CPL
5		1st44
1983TAG Williams TeamWilliams FW08CFord Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8BRA
DSQ		USW
Ret		FRA
5		SMR
4		MON
1		BEL
5		DET
2		CAN
4		GBR
11		GER
10		AUT
8		NED
Ret		ITA
11		EUR
Ret		5th27
1983TAG Williams TeamWilliams FW09Honda RA163-E 1.5 V6tRSA
5		5th27
1984Williams Grand Prix EngineeringWilliams FW09Honda RA163E 1.5 V6tBRA
2		RSA
Ret		BEL
4		SMR
Ret		FRA
6		MON
4		CAN
Ret		DET
Ret		DAL
1		8th20.5
1984Williams Grand Prix EngineeringWilliams FW09BHonda RA164E 1.5 V6tGBR
Ret		GER
Ret		AUT
Ret		NED
8		ITA
Ret		EUR
Ret		POR
Ret		8th20.5
1985Canon Williams TeamWilliams FW10Honda RA164E 1.5 V6tBRA
Ret		POR
Ret		SMR
Ret		MON
8		CAN
4		3rd40
1985Canon Williams TeamWilliams FW10Honda RA165E 1.5 V6tDET
1		FRA
2		GBR
Ret		GER
12		AUT
Ret		NED
Ret		ITA
Ret		BEL
4		EUR
3		RSA
2		AUS
1		3rd40
1986Marlboro McLaren InternationalMcLaren MP4/2CTAG TTE PO1 1.5 V6tBRA
Ret		ESP
4		SMR
5		MON
2		BEL
Ret		CAN
4		DET
Ret		FRA
4		GBR
Ret		GER
5		HUN
Ret		AUT
9		ITA
4		POR
Ret		MEX
Ret		AUS
Ret		6th22

† Did not finish, but was classified as he had completed more than 90% of the race distance.
‡ Race was stopped with less than 75% of laps completed, half points awarded.

Formula One Non-Championship results

Complete World Sportscar Championship results

YearEntrantClassChassisEngine123456789Pts
1983GTi EngineeringCPorsche 956Porsche Type-935 2.6 F6tMNZSILNÜR
3		LMSSPAFUJKYA25th12
1990Peugeot Talbot SportCPeugeot 905Peugeot SA35 3.5 V10SUZMNZSILSPADIJNÜRDONCGV
Ret		MEX
13		NC0
1991Peugeot Talbot SportC1Peugeot 905Peugeot SA35 3.5 V10SUZ
Ret		MNZ
Ret		SIL
Ret		LMS
Ret		NÜR
Ret		13th40
1991Peugeot Talbot SportC1Peugeot 905BPeugeot SA35 3.5 V10MAG
1		MEX
1		AUT
Ret		13th40

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft results

YearTeamCar123456789101112131415161718192021222324Pts
1992AMG Motorenbau GmbHMercedes 190E 2.5-16 Evo2ZOL
1
11		ZOL
2
Ret		NÜR
1
17		NÜR
2
8		WUN
1
4		WUN
2
1		AVU
1
12		AVU
2
15		HOC
1
3		HOC
2
Ret		NÜR
1
3		NÜR
2
3		NOR
1
Ret		NOR
2
18		BRN
1
Ret		BRN
2
2		DIE
1
3		DIE
2
2		ALE
1
Ret		ALE
2
6		NÜR
1
2		NÜR
2
2		HOC
1
Ret		HOC
2
DNS		5th147
1993Joest RacingOpel Calibra V6 4x4ZOL
1		ZOL
2		HOC
1		HOC
2		NÜR
1		NÜR
2		WUN
1		WUN
2		NÜR
1		NÜR
2		NOR
1		NOR
2		DON
1		DON
2		DIE
1		DIE
2		ALE
1		ALE
2		AVU
1		AVU
2		HOC
1
7		HOC
2
Ret		18th4
1994Opel Team JoestOpel Calibra V6 4x4ZOL
1
12		ZOL
2
10		HOC
1
Ret		HOC
2
3		NÜR
1
Ret		NÜR
2
Ret		MUG
1
13		MUG
2
Ret		NÜR
1
9		NÜR
2
Ret		NOR
1
17		NOR
2
DNS		DON
1
Ret		DON
2
DNS		DIE
1
Ret		DIE
2
DSQ		NÜR
1
5		NÜR
2
Ret		AVU
1
8		AVU
2
Ret		ALE
1
10		ALE
2
Ret		HOC
1
12		HOC
2
Ret		14th27
1995Opel Team RosbergOpel Calibra V6 4x4HOC
1
7		HOC
2
Ret		AVU
1
9		AVU
2
4		NOR
1
Ret		NOR
2
Ret		DIE
1
Ret		DIE
2
Ret		NÜR
1
4		NÜR
2
Ret		ALE
1
10		ALE
2
Ret		HOC
1
12		HOC
2
14		18th17

Complete International Touring Car Championship results

YearTeamCar12345678910Pts
1995Opel Team RosbergOpel Calibra V6 4x4MUG
1
Ret		MUG
2
DNS		HEL
1
Ret		HEL
2
Ret		DON
1
13		DON
2
Ret		EST
1
Ret		EST
2
Ret		MAG
1
12		MAG
2
8		20th3

In popular culture

In level 7 game 11 of the popular video game Angry Birds created by the Finnish company Rovio there is a caricature of Rosberg in a racing car sitting on the year '1982'.
In 1985, renowned Finnish actor Matti Pellonpää and his band released a song called "".