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Fight to the Finnish: Remembering the 1982 F1 season

NEWS STORY
16/10/2017

To date, Finland has produced no fewer than three Formula One world champions, with Mika Hakkinen winning motorsport's greatest prize twice in consecutive years. Kimi Raikkonen is a name well-known to modern F1 fans, but the first Finn to emerge triumphant was, of course, Keke Rosberg in 1982. Statistically speaking, Rosberg finds himself very much eclipsed by the Finnish champions that would follow in the subsequent years.

Even Valtteri Bottas, underperforming in this year's championship despite being armed with an impressive Mercedes car, is likely to figure more prominently than Rosberg on most lists of Finnish F1 drivers in years to come. Bottas is all but out of this season's title race and will now focus on adding to his two Grand Prix victories. As remote as his chances of challenging team mate Lewis Hamilton appear to be, Bottas is priced at 6/1 in F1 betting stakes to win the upcoming U.S Grand Prix and appears to have as good a chance as any to take to the podium in Texas.

Regardless of where Rosberg stands in relation to his countrymen, there can be no understating the consistency, resilience and staying power he showed in 1982, when the title went right down to the wire.

This was the moment of glory for Keke Rosberg.

1982: A Finn Vintage

Rosberg spent the 1981 behind the wheel for Fittipaldi Racing, but failed to score a single championship point. At that time, reigning champion Nelson Piquet was the dominant force in F1, racing in the sort of fearless yet calculated style that audiences only witness once in a generation. Williams-Ford duo Alan Jones and Carlos Reutemann were also strong title contenders, with the latter only missing Piquet by a single point in the final standings.

Rosberg barely featured on any bookmaker's list for the 1982 F1 season, but one simple move to Williams-Ford would herald a change in fortunes for the man from Solna. Much of Rosberg's title win can be attributed to the fact that his immediate title rivals were hampered by mitigating circumstances. Alain Prost retired no less than seven times, and second placed driver Didier Pironi missed the final four races of the season after sustaining a serious injury prior to the German Grand Prix.

By 1985, Rosberg was coming to the end of his career, but there was no slowing up as this vintage moment from that year's Silverstone Grand Prix shows.

Triple podium seals the deal

Though his title rivals did endure misfortunes, Rosberg himself was forced to overcome difficulties at the start of the season. He began with an unremarkable fifth-place finish at the South African Grand Prix, and followed that up with a disqualification in Brazil. He would then roar back with two wins in the next three races, in San Marino and the Western U.S. Retirements in three of the next six races put the entire season on a knife edge.

After Rosberg finished third in Germany and second in Austria, the Swiss Grand Prix would be a major factor in establishing the identity of the champion. At this time, France's Alain Prost was one of Rosberg's main title rivals, and held pole position for the pivotal race. Rosberg found himself down in 8th place on the grid, but enjoyed the race of his life to snatch a decisive victory, which would ultimately seal the title by a single point.

The aftermath

The following two years would be disappointing if judged against the standards of the 1982 season, but Rosberg's fourth and final season with Williams would be something of a flourish, with the Finn scoring third place, before spending the final season of his career at McLaren. Whether Bottas can rouse his performance to challenge for a major title in years to come remains to be seen, but following in the footsteps of the likes of Rosberg is no doubt a daunting task.

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