After four grueling years of trying to get the better of Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes, Nico Rosberg achieved his ultimate goal of winning the F1 drivers’ championship in 2016. Naturally, he knows a thing or two about going up against the very best and has some tips for Lando Norris in the fight for the 2025 title.
Firstly, the former Williams and Mercedes driver considers Norris a favorite to clinch his maiden title next season. However, Rosberg had a warning for the Briton after his radio message at the season finale in Abu Dhabi last weekend.
“Like in Abu Dhabi on the cool down lap, you know, he [Norris] said in the car, next year is my year,” Rosberg began on the Sky Sports F1 podcast.
“That’s something that I would actually recommend him not to do, because it’s just an unnecessary pressure expectation dynamic that you kick-off. And if you want, even do it internally, whatever. Yeah, but especially not externally,” the German concluded.
The underlying theme of Rosberg‘s suggestions to the #4 driver was to take the pressure off him. Going into every race with the intention of winning and building a good title challenge throughout the year is possibly the best thing to do for Norris if he wants to win the crown against the likes of Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen, and Lewis Hamilton.
That said, Rosberg did emphasize the fact that the Briton needs to take every opportunity that comes his way because winning a world championship is an opportunity that comes very rarely in the modern era of the sport.
Norris faces stiff competition despite being favorite for the 2025 championship
While parallels can be drawn between Rosberg’s 2016 title win and Norris’ potential charge next season, the complexion of the competition poses additional threats to the McLaren driver’s ambitions.
For starters, Rosberg only had his teammate, Hamilton to contend with given Mercedes’ dominance during the turbo-hybrid era of the sport. But 2024 has shown that 2025 could be a three-way title fight between the likes of McLaren, Ferrari, and Red Bull.
If Mercedes gets the W16 right, it could pose additional challenges for Norris. Moreover, as was the case with the RB20 this year, there is no guarantee that Norris will have the fastest car under his belt for the entirety of the season next year.
