NICO ROSBERG realized a dream and silenced his critics Sunday when he emulated his father Keke’s achievement and claimed his maiden Formula One drivers’ championship.

    But by beating his Mercedes teammate and three-time champion Lewis Hamilton the usually-reserved Rosberg did far more than that.

    In addition to persuading F1’s veteran commercial ring-master Bernie Ecclestone to “eat his words” after saying that a Rosberg title win would be bad for business, he left several other pundits chewing furiously.

    His father famously won only one race in his 1982 title triumph and a career total of five, but Rosberg swept to the title with nine wins this year.

    It was emphatic proof that, despite all of Hamilton’s reliability problems, he won the title on merit as much through dogged pursuit as a raw talent for speed. Despite losing to Hamilton in the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi, his overall triumph against Hamilton reflected his character — his refusal to concede, a relentless competitiveness and a cerebral attention to detail.

    It also enabled Rosberg to exorcise the demons that appeared to inhabit his intense competition with Hamilton, a relationship that dates back to teenage karting days as teammates, roommates and rivals, which has exploded with collisions in the last four years.

    In many ways, Rosberg’s success — and his identity as a champion — has been defined by his relationship, and differences, with Hamilton.

    Rosberg claimed his first podium at the 2008 Australian Grand Prix, sharing the moment with a victorious Hamilton who had arrived in F1 with McLaren a year earlier. In 2010, he moved to the rebranded Mercedes team created by the German manufacturer’s takeover of the 2009 champion Brawn.

    (SD-Agencies)