Bernie Ecclestone: ‘Nico Rosberg a world champion and nothing else’

ByBen Snowball

Updated 08/12/2016 at 12:24 GMT

Bernie Ecclestone has swerved listing Nico Rosberg among the Formula 1 greats, instead referring to the German as a “world champion and nothing else”.

Rosberg pipped Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton to the drivers’ title in 2016 and quit the sport shortly afterwards.

However, his triumph has received a muted reception by some, who believe he profited from Hamilton’s technical issues.

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F1 supremo Ecclestone refused to rank Rosberg alongside the multiple world champions currently on the grid – Sebastian Vettel (four), Hamilton (three), Alonso (two) – instead keeping his praise short.

"Well, let’s just say he is a world champion," Ecclestone said.

"The other names that you mentioned (Hamilton, Vettel, Alonso) have obviously won more than a few times and have achieved more. So I would just call Nico a world champion and nothing else."

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However, the 86-year-old did concede that Rosberg will be missed in 2017.

"He’s not as popular as Lewis but Nico was a very popular driver," he added. "So his absence is certainly not good for Formula One."

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