Rosberg Unhappy His Mercedes Merits Are Undervalued

After almost an entire season racing alongside 7-time world champion Michael Schumacher for Mercedes, German driver Nico Rosberg hinted that his performance in his first year with the Stuttgart-based manufacturer is not well enough recognized. However, he didn't mention who exactly hasn't recognized his performance, the team or the media.

“I don't think my performance is well enough recognized,” said Rosberg according to a report from the GMM news agency, citing German weekly Sport Bild.

In the context of Schumacher returning to action after 3 years on the sidelines, Rosberg has outqualified the 41-year old 13-3 this season, while also scoring some 68 points more in the overall classification. And although Schu has had plenty of troubles adjusting his driving style to the new Bridgestone tires, Rosberg said he had to confront the same issues in the past year.

“It's the same for me. Actually I think Michael has been able to adapt his driving style better than I have,” added Rosberg, who argued that “Michael has 15 years of experience in Formula One,” something that should have helped him return to competitive form faster than many expected.

To avoid a potential feud between the two and also set things straight for the media, Mercedes' motorsport boss Norbert Haug made it very clear that his team appreciates and recognizes the merits of their young driver, praising him for getting the best most of the times.

“I think it's absolutely obvious that Nico has so far extracted what was possible from the car,” said Haug. “Only on a very few occasions was this not the case. I think he learned a lot with Williams and if you would name one of the top guys that are currently young and experienced in formula one you would certainly mention Nico. So Nico is a very good benchmark for probably everybody in the field.”