Nico Rosberg has revealed the initial sense of dread upon hearing Michael Schumacher would be his teammate at Mercedes.
A decade ago, the German manufacturer reformed their works outfit after purchasing Brawn GP, with team boss Ross Brawn persuading the seven-time world champion to come out of retirement.
Of course, all of Schumacher’s success in Formula 1 had come with Brawn by his side, so when faced with working alongside the legendary partnership, Rosberg admits he feared the worst.
“That was not a good moment,” he laughed in a recent F1 Unscripted interview with David Coulthard.
“I was all excited, I could be leading this Mercedes team, and the name Schumacher was not even on the horizon. Nobody was even talking about that.
“And then suddenly Ross calls me and he says, ‘oh, by the way, your teammate is not going to be Jenson Button or Nick Heidfeld, it’s going to be Michael Schumacher’ and I was like…Oh. My. God.
“[I had] the craziest thoughts, that I would have no chance, that the whole team would go against me, and Michael would manipulate his way through.
“And also like, I don’t even know, can I keep up with him? He’s the greatest of all time, do I have a chance?
“That was a pretty crazy moment.”
Rosberg need not have worried too much though as Schumacher was rarely able to replicate the magic of his first stint in F1 during the three years of his second.
Indeed, the German quickly established himself as the lead driver at Mercedes, even if Schumacher was trying all the tricks in the book and getting some preferential treatment.
And when the Brackley-based outfit was able to compete for wins in 2012, it was Rosberg, not Michael, who claimed it at the Chinese Grand Prix that year.
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