<P> The new Mercedes MGP W02 proved to be very fast in winter testing . In Australia, Rosberg showed his speed until retiring due to a collision with Barrichello . In Malaysia, Rosberg started ninth and finished twelfth, meaning that for the first time in his career he failed to score a single point in the opening two races of a season . Rosberg took his first points finish of the season in China, having qualified fourth and finishing fifth, as well as leading fourteen laps during the race . During the 2011 Belgian Grand Prix, Rosberg overtook Sebastian Vettel during the first lap of the race and led again for three laps in total, but then quickly fell down the field and on lap 42 of 44 allowed his teammate Schumacher to pass him for fifth after the team warned him that he should save fuel . </P> <P> Rosberg eventually ended the championship in the seventh place for the third time in a row, again above Schumacher in the final standings . However, he had scored no podium finishes during the season, and the gap in terms of points between Rosberg and his teammate decreased from seventy points in 2010 to thirteen in 2011 . This was partly because the Mercedes MGP W02 generally had nobody to compete with, with Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari having superior cars and other teams being more slow - paced than MGP W02 . Rosberg himself pointed to the fact that due to the new Pirelli tyres and the Drag Reduction System, introduced in 2011, overtaking had become more possible and qualifying--where he still had beaten Schumacher 16: 3--had lost its importance . Despite that, he praised DRS, stating that it could turn out to be one of the best rules in Formula One history . </P> <P> Rosberg finished outside the points in the first two races of the season in Australia and Malaysia, finishing twelfth and thirteenth respectively . At the Chinese Grand Prix, Rosberg gained the first pole position of his career . Rosberg took advantage of his grid position to storm to his maiden victory finishing over twenty seconds ahead of second - placed Jenson Button who fell back after a pit - stop error . In this way Rosberg took his first points of the season and Mercedes's first win since Juan Manuel Fangio won the 1955 Italian Grand Prix, prior to their withdrawal from the sport . In addition to that, Rosberg became the first German driver to win a Grand Prix driving a German car since Hermann Lang's victory at the 1939 Swiss Grand Prix and the first driver to win a Grand Prix during the life of their father who also achieved a Grand Prix victory in Formula One . Subsequently, Rosberg finished 2nd in Monaco but he was mostly slower than Schumacher in qualifying, slipping to ninth in the standings . </P> <P> Rosberg remained at Mercedes for the 2013 season but Michael Schumacher announced his retirement and he was replaced by Lewis Hamilton after Hamilton signed a three - year contract with the team . Rosberg retired from the Australian Grand Prix with an electrical problem, and he finished fourth at the Malaysian Grand Prix after being ordered by the team not to overtake Hamilton . During the Monaco Grand Prix, he had pole position, led every lap and won the race, especially notable given that he considers Monaco his home and that his father Keke Rosberg won the same race exactly thirty years earlier . On 30 June, Rosberg claimed his second win of the season and third of his career at the British Grand Prix . He benefited from a puncture suffered by his teammate Hamilton and a technical failure for Vettel . Rosberg came back to being 2nd best to Vettel after the summer break qualifying 2nd, only 0.010 seconds behind Sebastian Vettel . Three races later he started and finished 2nd in India, and in Abu Dhabi he finished third . Rosberg again qualified an impressive 2nd at the wet Brazil after finishing first in the practice sessions . He even took the lead but had to settle for 5th, finishing the season in sixth place in the championship with 171 points compared to teammate Hamilton's 189 . </P>

German finnish former f 1 world champion racing driver