Rosberg on a roll

Posted on 23/03/2010

Nico Rosberg got his Australian Grand Prix weekend off to a winning start at the Melbourne Crown Casino. On arrival in the city, the Mercedes driver tried to check into his room in the casino's hotel only to find that it wasn't ready. Bored of waiting around, he took about $100 downstairs to the poker tables and emerged a few hours later with $800 in his pocket. Rosberg has past form playing cards and took part in an exclusive pre-race poker game at the German Grand Prix alongside Robert Kubica, Michael Schumacher and Bernie Ecclestone. Whether his luck on the table will be an omen for this weekend’s grand prix remains to be seen.

Another, slightly presumptuous, omen ahead of the Melbourne race was the circuit officials’ decision to name a grandstand after home hero Mark Webber. Almost all the other stands are named after world champions, with the names Schumacher and Fangio adorning the seating areas either side of the new Webber grandstand. Webber is a title contender this year but Albert Park may have just jumped the gun by listing him alongside other antipodean greats such as Jack Brabham and Alan Jones.