Rosberg vows to take risks to keep title hopes alive
He is afraid of heights but wouldn't hesitate to sky dive, he can juggle while riding on a unicycle and his go-to song at the karaoke is U2's classic, "Where the streets have no name".
Formula 1 pilot Nico Rosberg is a man of many talents, he is fast in his Mercedes car, but he still has to conquer the Singapore Grand Prix after seven editions of the street race around Marina Bay.
Sebastian Vettel (three wins), Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton (two wins each) have thrived in the only full night race on the calendar, and Rosberg will be desperate to join them as winners here at the 2015 Singapore Airlines Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix, to give him a chance at a late charge for a first drivers' title.
The 30-year-old German's challenge suffered a major setback after he failed to finish near the end in Monza a fortnight ago owing to an engine failure but, a little less than 24 hours before today's practice, he was all smiles at his charming best during a 45-minute appearance at a Mercedes-Benz event at Suntec City.
Rosberg faces a daunting task to try and haul in teammate Lewis Hamilton - he is 53 points behind the championship leader with seven races to go - he knows what lies ahead, but it didn't stop him from engaging his fans and answering questions, spending about 20 minutes after that moving along the cordon of the event area to sign autographs and pose for pictures.
It was the Singapore race that defined the drivers' championship last season.
Rosberg, then the championship leader, had to retire after 13 laps, while Hamilton took the chequered flag and zoomed past his teammate in the standings, and eventually claimed his second world title.
Speaking as if he has already decided that Singapore will effectively be his last stand, Rosberg, whose best result here was a second-placed finish in 2008 with Williams, said: "Last year, I was being chased, now I am doing the chasing.
"When you're in front, you take fewer risks, now I need to take more risks."
The fresh-faced son of 1982 world champion Keke insisted he was fully motivated despite recent setbacks, when he said: "There has just been a couple of bad races and I don't have a problem with motivation; it's such a great opportunity to drive this Mercedes car - it's so fast, and I am very motivated to come here and win the race."
Mana Sugiyama, 19, was a lucky fan who got a hug and a peck on the cheek from her idol after correctly answering a question during a short quiz segment.
"He looks so serious and cool during the race, but he is so cute and friendly with fans here," said the Kyoto native, who came to Singapore for the race weekend.
"When he kissed me, I could have just died."
What is spicy about the duel between the teammates is their relationship.
The German flyer is "not really friends" with Hamilton, although they do have a good working relationship.
When he puts on his racing helmet for qualifying tomorrow night, and the race on Sunday, Rosberg said there will be only one goal, as always - to win.
"Lewis has done a better job till now and deserves to be in front, but I don't really think about it (Lewis' win record here) going into a race weekend," Rosberg said, later.
"In qualifying, he beat me once and I've beaten him once so far, so we are quite even, and qualifying is important here.
"I am confident of beating him here," added the German flyer.
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