Timing screen, 1983 German Grand Prix.
Keke’s gear. The sand dunes of Zandvoort, 1985 Dutch Grand Prix.
Keke Rosberg is another driver who I think is unfairly forgotten. Laying the ground work for future Finns in the sport, he personally opened up doors for drivers JJ Lehto and Mika Hakkinen as their manager, not to mention his son and current Mercedes driver Nico.
Further more, he was tenacious and ruddy quick. His qualifying lap around Silverstone in 1985 was the highest average speed a Formula One car had ever achieved around a circuit, and remained until Juan Montoya bettered it in 2002 (before bettering it once more in 2004, both at Monza). It was a symbolic achievement, as it really put a jewell in his crown as the most aggressive (in the sense of attacking the track and fighting his own car) of the turbo era, a crown he perhaps inherited during title winning season. The crown would eventually be passed on to the fiery Brit nicknamed “il leone” due to his own tenacity, but more on him later.
In 2002, Juan Pablo Montoya set the fastest ever average speed for a Formula One driver during a lap with his pole position lap, at an average 259.827 km/h. He would later break this record, in 2004 again at Monza, with an average of 262.242 km/h.
Montoya is seen here, breaking Keke Rosberg’s record of 258.9 km/h average, set during qualifying of the 1985 British Grand Prix at Silverstone. The OLD Silverstone.
