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Nico Rosberg was one of the names on the lips of Formula 1 enthusiasts following Saturday's qualifying session for the Chinese Grand Prix.
After a long hiatus, F1 action returned to the Shanghai International Circuit in China. With the Chinese Grand Prix set to commence on Sunday, the season's first Sprint weekend and subsequent qualifying session showcased some dramatic action building up to the main race.
Amidst the on-track racing action and Aston Martin's protest off the track, a notable personality who stole the spotlight in the commentary booth was Nico Rosberg. The Mercedes legend, who infamously won the F1 Drivers' Championship in 2016, found himself performing play-by-play commentary in the Sky Sports F1 booth during the Chinese GP weekend.
Rosberg, who retired from the sport in 2016, has been a regular feature in Sky's pre/post-race analysis, but Shanghai was a rare opportunity for fans to witness him calling a race live, and they were surely impressed.
Following Saturday's qualifying race, where Max Verstappen secured yet another pole position, F1 aficionados took to X (formerly Twitter) to express their elation with the German-Finnish FIA Hall of Famer.
One user commented:
"Nico Rosberg is genuinely the best analyst/commentator in F1 by far right now."
"Nico Rosberg should commentate every race," added another fan.
A third fan highlighted Rosberg's ability to call out mistakes. They wrote:
"Nico Rosberg brings the ability to disagree and correct someone else."
"genuinely made the commentary so fun to watch," commented another user.
"Rosberg really is everything that is currently missing in f1 commentary," added a fifth user.
"petition to have Rosberg at every f1 race," chimed in another fan.
Nico Rosberg calls out Lewis Hamilton for costly mistake in China
Lewis Hamilton, once a teammate and rival to Nico Rosberg, endured a disappointing session after being knocked out of qualifying after the first session. The Mercedes driver's costly mistake at the hairpin ultimately relegated him to 18th position on the grid, as he saw himself get knocked out by 0.116s.
Rosberg highlighted Lewis Hamilton's error, emphasizing the unnecessary risk taken by the seven-time world champion. He said (via PlanetF1):
"Wow. That is painful. That is seriously painful. In 18th position. Honestly, you know that the wind is coming from the back there. He’s had a great lap until then."
"It was really unnecessary to push the limit there so much," added Rosberg. "As a seven-time World Champion, that’s a mistake that probably should be avoidable."
While Lewis Hamilton is set to start from 18th position, his teammate George Russell will kick off the Chinese GP from P8.
