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Nico Rosberg poses with his
Formula 1 world title in front of the Arc de Triomphe. (Image
source: www.dailymail.co.uk)
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Ah, wasn't that clever? As it's now such a long
time ago when Lewis Hamilton was being a SHIT!
Yeah, I know, Y'all are salivating over some
riveting Post-race analysis from the recently held 2017 F1 season opener Down
Under; Chirp-Chirp...
Although most of Yuhs know I missed watching this race
since I was bobbing in the warm waters of Kona instead...
But guess what Mates? As typical, your humble
No Fenders scribe is still running on Island Time! And hence the story keeps
getting pushed away, akin to what the Pacific Ocean was doing to our "Disappearing
Sands" beach...
Hence, before we get too far into the 2017 F1
season, when Nico will most likely become a distant memory, or relegated to
simply being a footnote in history; as isn't it nice how Lewis, Sebastian and
Formula 1 have already swept him underneath the carpet...
Alas, I'm probably in the minority, but I'm
still marveling over his audacity to simply walk away as F1 world champion,
specifically leaving his Bosom buddy Lewis Hamilton to stew...
As it'll have been 96 Days since I've
watched; Err listened to a Grand Prix, having stayed U-P into thou Wee hours of
Sunday morning here on the West Coast to hear the voices 'O Formula 1 on
Peacock-lite' calling the action from Shanghai, for which I cannot really say
I've missed Duh Booth Boyz' that much over the winter months. Having finally
started winding-up my proverbial F1 Top whilst awaitin' Duh riveting Chinese GP
(Free Practice) FP2 coverage near midnight Thursday...
Yet I'll remember for awhile further sitting
inside our cozy 'lil Florence cabin hotel's room underneath the ceiling mounted
flat screen TV ARSE backwards at ZERO DARK 30, aka 4:30AM Pacific staring at
the room being awash in the green, florescent hues of the Telescreen for three
Bloody Hours in order to hear Nico be crowned World Champion!
As I took this unconventional position due to
needing to keep the volume turned down low enough in order to not wake the next
door neighbor's thru the fairly thin walls of the hotel.
And whilst I might not be enamoured over
Rosberg's playing Defense in order to win the title, i.e.; finishing runner-up
four successive races in-a-row. Nonetheless, you cannot fault the wily German's
tactics to ensure his lone F1 world championship. As I'll forever revel in the
chants of NICO-NICO-NICO! On Yas Isle immediately following his being crowned world champion!
Thus upon returning home from thou
"Other Florence," nee Oregon's Sand Dunes, whilst listening to Thy Crappie
'lil Radio Station, their main "Jingle" announcer Lee Callahan teased
Mwah 'bout Seattle "Grunge" Band Alice in Chains RUSh song remake;
HUH?
As I'd thought they'd gone the way of the
Front-engine Roadster after their lead singer Layne Staley had been found dead
in his University Condo after overdosing 15yrs ago...
As the song in Questione was Tears, for which
I recalled listening to multiple times on my vinyl copy of 2112's
"B-Side," which the Kuhnaidiun Power Trio recorded Wayback forty
years ago; YIKES!
Yet as I listened to the Alice in Chains
version, for which I enjoy the haunting melody, with the harmonizing chorus making
I-T sound better than the original, I kept thinking of how Apropos it was in
regards to Nico, his wife Vivian, with their daughter Alaïa saying Mommy, DON'T CRY! With their tears 'O joy being over A-L-L the
decades of endless sweat 'N toil performed to reach his ultimate motor racing
goal!
VIDEO: Tears'
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| Nico Rosberg 2006 Williams F1 Hero card. (The Tomaso Collection) |
Whilst I knew that Nico was the maiden GP2 series
champion in 2005 before graduating to Formula 1 with Team Willy', aka Williams
Grand Prix Engineering, the same Bloody team his father Keke won the '82 world
championship for. I've really never delved into Nico's racing pedigree.
Thus, for those Detractors out Thar', whilst
you're busy claiming how Nico comes from an overly wealthy background,
nevertheless, obviously he had racing talent in Spades, especially with a
Formula 1 world champion as Poppa!
Rosberg Junior' not only presumably kicked
ARSE in Go Karts, where one of his team-mates was some Hamilton Chap! But also won
the Formula BMW Germany title in '02 before stepping up to the Euro F3
championship and ultimately GP2.
And although aware of the young German
Whippersnapper' previously, I'm guessing that I first truly grasped Nico's
talent when wishing for him to win his debutant Grands Prix at Singapore, in
'08 where he finished runner-up after I believe, leading his first laps in
Formula 1? Although his performance was overshadowed by what ultimately became
known as Renault's Crash Gate!
As Fred Alonso was
still firmly known here in Nofendersville as Ferdi-the-Putz' due to his
rancorous stint at McLaren the season before! Not to mention his KNOWING
NOTHING 'bout rookie team-mate Nelson Piquet, Jr' being order to crash...
As although I've been critical of Nico,
especially his frequent petulance when being beaten, most notably by his arch
rival Lewis, nonetheless as Y'all know, I became a fan of Rosberg's when he
charmed Awntie' Harriet on her flight home from her solitary Formula 1 race at
age 87; Ja Volt! Especially since Nico was just a precocious lad having just
celebrated his 21st birthday between the Kuhnaidiun' and USgP rounds...
Yet I was unawares' that the younger Rosberg
once turned down his chance to attend the Imperial College London's Aeronautical
Engineering course in order to contest GP2, along with scoring the highest
score ever for Williams F1 Newbes' on their aptitude test regarding
engineering!
Still think Nico's not a great F1 driver worthy of
being world champion? As guess who he just handed the dubious record of most
Grands Prix victories without ever becoming champion back too...
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| Formula One world champion Nico Rosberg watches the Australian Grand Prix with his family. (Image source: www.dailymail.co.uk) |
Ha-Ha
Lewis! You can NEVER Defeat Me Again!
A current mental image of Nico I most enjoy
is his noting how his Mum' would be surrounded by two world champions at the
dinner table for last year's Christmas.
And although they're vastly different eras,
as Keke was the last normally aspirated Cossie' runner to win the title during
the ubiquitous Ford/Cosworth DFV V-8's reign before the first Turbo era fully
engulfed F1, albeit the Williams FW07, nearing the end of its competitive
lifecycle was running a DFY, an evolution of the DFV.
Just for humour, Keke won five races, five
Poles and three Fastest laps vs. Nico's 23 wins, 30 Poles and 20 Fastest laps.
Keke won his championship on the back of a
single win! While Nico won nine times, with Poppa' standing on the podium 17
times in 114-starts vs. Nico podiuming 57 times in nearly double the amount of
starts, finishing with 206, just an expanded "Baker's Dozen" shy of doubling
his Poppa's start total.
As you could also
argue that Keke spent much of his F1 career in inferior machinery, driving the
likes of lowly Theodore, ATS, Wolf, and Fittipaldi's, before capping his career
at Williams and McLaren...
And in the immortal words of Thy late Awntie'
Harriet: Good For You, Nico! For deciding to call time on your racing
career and enjoy the little things in
life, like being able to go skiing and enjoying "quality Time" with
your wife and daughter. As I especially enjoy the picture of the Rosberg family
watching the Australian GP together...
Whilst another of
my Nico memories doesn't' speak favourably towards promoting Formula 1
Stateside. As I still vividly recall when casting about for a new F1 Driver to
root for in 2012, Claudio took me thru the COTA (Circuit Of The Americas)
merchandise alley, where I'd really wanted to purchase a Rosberg T-Shirt.
Yet I simply
couldn't justify shilling out $70 for a fairly "Plain-Jane" vanilla Mercedes
Tee, with graphics only adorning the shirt's front side, even though I really
liked the bright yellow hue 'O Nico's crash bucket popping out at Mwah...