
F1 legend admits his health is failing in worrying update during rare interview
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TIME WAITS FOR NO MAN AND 76-YEAR-OLD KEKE ROSBERG, FAMED IN THE FORMULA 1 WORLD FOR WINNING THE 1982 WORLD TITLE WITH WILLIAMS, ADMITS HIS HEALTH IS NOT AS STRONG AS IT ONCE WAS 13:54, 04
Jun 2025 Former Formula 1 champion Keke Rosberg has admitted his health is declining. In a rare interview the 1982 F1 title-winner, who is father to another champion of the sport in Nico
Rosberg, has admitted he continues to suffer with Long Covid. That is the term given to people who continue to suffer ill effects long after they have been infected by Covid-19. He never so
much as broke a bone during his F1 career but, speaking to Finnish magazine _Apu_ , the 76-year-old said the pandemic took a toll on his health. "The post-corona period was a bit
confusing as to whether this was caused by isolation, or whether there was some kind of post-corona disease when there was a lack of energy," he said. "Understanding of this Long
Covid is still at zero level. There are a huge number of people who suffer badly from it." Rosberg, who lives in Monaco in the same apartment building as his 2016 F1 champion son, also
said he has recently received specialist treatment for problems with his eyes. SIGN UP TO OUR FREE WEEKLY F1 NEWSLETTER, PIT LANE CHRONICLE, BY ENTERING YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS BELOW SO THAT
EVERY NEW EDITION LANDS STRAIGHT IN YOUR INBOX! Article continues below A combination of age and ongoing symptoms from his coronavirus infection during the pandemic have limited what Rosberg
is able to do. He said: "I used to have a list of things that still need to be done. I still have one now, but it's a list of things that can't be done anymore." Rosberg
did not debut in F1 until 1978, when he was already 29 years old. And when he did get his shot, it was with minor outfits like Theodore, ARS and Wolf. He then signed with Fittipaldi
Automotive, founded and run by double F1 champion Emerson Fittipaldi and his brother Wilson, but that car too was uncompetitive. READ MORE: Michael Schumacher's F1 boss gives tragic
insight into star's condition after chats with his wifeREAD MORE: Toto Wolff sparks fresh row after Max Verstappen comments following Spanish GP But he got his big break in 1982 with
Williams, replacing the retired 1980 champion Alan Jones and, in his first season with the team, won the title. He did so as a result of consistently strong results, having only actually won
one race all year. It was, of course, the highlight of his own racing career. But more important to him, he says, was watching his son Nico complete the same achievement in 2016 at the end
of a tense and bitter championship fight with Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton. He said: "The biggest thing was definitely Nico's championship. For me, that championship was just
one milestone. For Nico, it wasn't like that. It was an important event. It was already a pretty big event in terms of family history. My championship in the family was mostly of
interest to my father and mother." Article continues below Rosberg Jnr famously retired days after beating Hamilton to the crown, and that came as a shock to his father as much as it
did to everyone else. Keke said: "He didn't say anything. Nico sent a text to his mother and said to tell his father later. It felt like a big fist to the diaphragm. Nico knew that
if he started discussing it with me, then of course his father's opinion might be quite weighty, which he didn't want to listen to. That decision was difficult enough
anyway." Sky Sports launches discounted Formula 1 package This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more £43 £35 Sky
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