Born in Wiesbaden, West Germany, and raised primarily in Monaco, Rosberg holds dual German and Finnish citizenship. His father, Keke Rosberg, won the 1982 Formula One championship, and Nico grew up speaking five languages — English, French, German, Italian and Spanish. He was educated at the International School of Nice and the International School of Monaco.
Rosberg began competitive karting at age six and won his first regional championships in France before progressing to international events. His early karting career overlapped notably with that of Lewis Hamilton: in late 1999, Keke Rosberg arranged for the two drivers to race together under the TeamMBM.com banner for Mercedes-Benz McLaren. The two would later become teammates and fierce rivals in Formula One.
At 16, Rosberg moved to car racing, winning nine of twenty races to claim the 2002 Formula BMW ADAC Championship with VIVA Racing — becoming at the time the youngest person ever to drive a Formula One car, having been rewarded with a Williams test at the Circuit de Catalunya. He contested the Formula 3 Euro Series in 2003 and 2004 with Team Rosberg before winning the inaugural GP2 Series title in 2005 with ART Grand Prix, securing the championship at the Bahrain International Circuit season finale.
Rosberg signed a five-year contract with Williams for the 2006 season, becoming the first son of a former world champion to race in Formula One since Damon Hill. At the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, he scored his first championship points and set the fastest lap, becoming the youngest fastest lap setter in the sport's history at that time at 20 years old. He achieved two podium finishes during his Williams tenure: third at the 2008 Australian Grand Prix and second at the inaugural 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.
Rosberg was partnered first by Mark Webber, then Alexander Wurz, and finally Kazuki Nakajima across his four seasons. The Williams cars of that era were competitive in brief flashes but lacked consistent pace; Rosberg consistently demonstrated strong technical feedback and an ability to extract results beyond the car's potential. His best season at Williams came in 2009, when he scored 34.5 points for seventh in the championship, benefiting from the FW31's early double-diffuser advantage.
Rosberg joined Mercedes when the team was formed from Brawn GP at the end of 2009. He was partnered initially with seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher, a pairing that produced a complex dynamic: Rosberg consistently outqualified and outfinished his legendary teammate, beating him in the championship standings each season. Rosberg claimed his first career victory at the 2012 Chinese Grand Prix, ending a wait of 111 Grands Prix starts.
When Lewis Hamilton joined Mercedes in 2013 in place of the retiring Schumacher, the intensity of the intra-team battle escalated sharply. In 2013, Rosberg won at Monaco — becoming the first son of a world champion to win the famous street circuit — and at Silverstone. He finished runner-up to Hamilton in both 2014 and 2015, the latter a season in which he won six of the final seven races to close to within 17 points of his teammate.
The 2016 title fight was decided at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Rosberg entered the finale leading by 12 points: needing to finish no worse than third, he finished second even as Hamilton won and attempted to slow the pace to allow other drivers through. Rosberg claimed the championship by five points. His preparation for the 2016 season had been meticulous — he studied sleep science, worked with a mental trainer, meditated, revised his diet, and altered his driving gloves to improve his starts. He was the first reigning champion to retire from the sport since Alain Prost in 1993.
Across 206 Formula One starts, Rosberg recorded 23 victories, 30 pole positions, 20 fastest laps, and 57 podium finishes, accumulating 1,594.5 championship points. He won back-to-back Monaco Grands Prix in 2013 and 2014, the second of which came after qualifying on pole in circumstances that generated considerable controversy. His 2016 title, claimed in his final season and announced just five days after the Abu Dhabi race, was one of the most abrupt retirements in the sport's history.
In retirement, Rosberg pursued eco-entrepreneurship, investing in electric and sustainable technology companies across Europe. He became a long-term investor in the all-electric Formula E racing series from 2018. In 2019, he co-founded the annual Greentech Festival trade fair in Berlin to showcase sustainable technologies. He also founded Rosberg X Racing (RXR) in 2020 to compete in the Extreme E all-electric SUV off-road series; the team won the inaugural Extreme E constructors' title in 2021 with drivers Johan Kristoffersson and Molly Taylor.
Rosberg became a television pundit and commentator, analysing Formula One for Sky Sports F1 in the United Kingdom, RTL in Germany, and Sky Italia. He co-founded the Rosberg Young Drivers Academy with karting mentor Dino Chiesa to support emerging talent. In 2022, he launched the non-profit Rosberg Philanthropies, focused on environmental protection and children's welfare.
Rosberg received the Lorenzo Bandini Trophy in 2011. He won the inaugural FIA Pole Trophy in 2014 for taking the most pole positions that season (11) and the DHL Fastest Lap Award in 2016. He was inducted into the FIA Hall of Fame in December 2017 and won the Laureus World Sports Award for Breakthrough of the Year the same year.