Keke Rosberg Biography, Wiki, Height, Weight, Net Worth, Racing Career

Keke Rosberg Biography: Keijo Erik Rosberg (nicknamed “Keke”) is a former Finnish racing driver who won the Formula 1 World Championship in 1982. He was the first Finnish driver to compete in the series regularly and the first Finnish champion.

Keke Rosberg Biography

Keke Rosberg Biography: Rosberg was born in Solna, Sweden, on December 6, 1948, where his father studied veterinary science. Rosberg was born in Hamina, Finland, to father Lars Rosberg and mother Lea Lautala. In the spring of 1950, the family returned to Finland, settling in Lapinjärvi and transferring to Hamina, Oulu, and Iisalmi.

Keke Rosberg Wiki

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Keke Rosberg Net Worth

Keke Rosberg, a former racing driver from Finland, with a net worth of $30 million.

Keke Rosberg Career

Rosberg debuted in Formula One at age 29, following campaigns in Formula Vee, Formula Super Vee, Can-Am, Formula Atlantic, Formula Pacific, & Formula Two, considered a “feeder” series to Formula One. He raced for his American patron, Fred Opert. During the 1978 Formula One season, he drove for the Theodore team for the first time. In his second race with the team, he won the non-championship BRDC International Trophy at Silverstone. He caught the eye of the Formula One paddock with a brilliant performance after a torrential downpour caught out many of the top drivers. After failing to qualify for the following race, Rosberg was hired by an uncompetitive team, ATS, for three races after the Theodore team left its unreliable car design. He returned to Theodore after they acquired chassis from the Wolf Formula 1 team, but these were also uncompetitive, so Rosberg ended the season with ATS.

Despite this, Williams was interested in Rosberg, as 1980 World Champion Alan Jones’ retirement left a seat available for the 1982 season. Rosberg had a very successful year when equipped with a competitive car. He consistently scored points and earned his first victory in the Swiss Grand Prix at Dijon-Prenois late that year.

At the time, Rosberg’s move to McLaren for the 1986 season appeared to be a masterstroke, as the team had won the championship the previous two seasons, particularly in 1984, with dominance. John Barnard had designed the McLaren MP4/2C to suit the smoother driving styles of Niki Lauda and Alain Prost, whereas Rosberg had always kept his ground effects style of late braking and throwing the car into corners. Only when it became known that Barnard was departing for Ferrari, did the designer enable Rosberg to make significant changes to his cars’ setup to fit his style. This coincided with Rosberg’s only pole position of the season in Germany, which was ironic. In addition, the May 1986 death of Rosberg’s close companion Elio de Angelis, during a Brabham test at the Paul Ricard circuit in France, profoundly affected him, and he retired at the end of the season. He would subsequently say that he had quit “too soon.”

Rosberg, who decided 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 beginning to perform well and the Porsche-built TAG engine (and the three-season-old MP4/2) was starting to show its age. In an interview following his retirement announcement, Nico Rosberg stated that he was glad he left Williams when he did because he might have quit F1 early in the 1986 season if he had stayed with them. He explained that Frank Williams’ pre-season accident (in which he suffered a spinal cord injury that left him a person with quadriplegia) had left someone in a position of authority within the team, which was one of the reasons he left Williams. Rosberg did not identify the individual, but it was widely believed to be Williams, chief designer and Technical Director Patrick chief, who ran the team. At the same time, Frank Williams recovered from his accident.