KEKE ROSBERG

Keijo Erik "Keke" Rosberg (born December 6, 1948 in Solna, Stockholm County, Sweden) is a Finnish former Formula One racing driver. Rosberg has driven for Theodore, ATS, Wolf, Fittipaldi, Williams and McLaren between 1978 and 1986, winning 5 races and the 1982 World Drivers' Championship.

He is the father of former Mercedes Grand Prix driver and 2016 Formula One champion Nico Rosberg.

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.

Despite this, Williams was interested in Rosberg, with the retirement of 1980 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 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 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 (especially in 1984) 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.

Activity: 1978 - 1986
Grand Prix: 128
Drivers Championships: 1 (1982)
Victories: 5
Podiums: 17
Pole Positions: 5
Fastest Laps: 3
Career Points: 159,5