Nico Rosberg has to battle to match his famous father's career - but so far he seems to be making ground. Justin Hynes watched him drive in Bahrain
Nico Rosberg's name is not one that featured in many pre-season previews, unless it was to reflect on the glory days of his colourful father, a chain-smoking, moustachioed Finn who battled his way, in a Williams, to the 1982 driver's title despite winning just one race that year and who later masterminded Mika Hakkinen's progress to champion in 1998 and '99.
Indeed, Keke was everything the quiet, almost girlishly handsome Nico isn't. Brash, macho and devil may care, Keke was famed for his no-nonsense approach, earthy humour and bravery.
In one oft-related instance early in his career, Keke rolled his car several times at the Sachskurve at Hockenheim. The car was airborne and when, after an eternity, it finally landed, it was luckily on all four wheels. It took a few seconds before the Finn clambered out of the wreck. From somewhere inside what was once the cockpit he produced an old, ugly cowboy hat and slapped it on his head.
He dusted himself down and then from a pocket produced his trademark cigarette and lighter.
The legacy of his father has tended to overshadow the son's. In Formula BMW in 2002, he collected nine victories in 20 races and tested an F1 car at the end of his first season of racing - making him, at 17, the youngest man ever to drive a Formula 1 car.
His later career was less impressive, although he has always been competitive. As a consequence he was often written off as a mediocre talent riding his father's coat-tails.
"Generally it is just annoying," Rosberg says of carrying the family name. "I know that I am very lucky to have a father like that and it has helped my career but, in the end, you are the one who is racing and the results are yours."
And on Sunday in Bahrain, the result proved that Frank Williams' faith in the gene pool was not misguided.
At the Sakhir circuit, in the Williams cockpit he had inherited from Nick Heidfeld after the German had opted for a BMW-Sauber move, Rosberg made a stunning grand prix debut.
Battered in a first corner collision he pitted for repairs and was left trawling around at the rear of the field, but then he began setting alarmingly quick times, pushing his Williams, with its privateer Cosworth engines, to within hundredths of a second of the might of Ferrari, McLaren, Renault and Honda.
Then when he was ninth and all eyes were on the Schumacher v Alonso battle at the front of the pack, on the circuit timing screens the purple colour signaling a new fastest lap, lit up his name.
He muscled his way past the struggling David Coulthard with a flashing double bluff move and got to seventh, a place behind his team-mate Mark Webber, who had enjoyed an untroubled race.
Three-time world champion Jackie Stewart acknowledged the feat. "I think it's the best performance of any young driver that I've seen for a very long time.
"I can't remember a performance in a first Grand Prix that was so impressive. I had a sixth place in my first Grand Prix but he came from the back and I certainly didn't get fastest lap." The praise was lavish too from Williams' technical director Sam Michael.
"On pure maths, from subtracting where he finished to where he was behind (after his pitstop to repair the wing), he should have finished in a solid third," explained Michael.
"Whether he would have run with Michael (Schumacher) or Fernando (Alonso) I don't know, but he would have been within 10 seconds of them. Whether he could have even beaten them I don't know, but he would have been third."
On Sunday in Bahrain, there was much to recommend the new season.
A resurgent Ferrari. An awesome drive by Kimi Raikkonen to state that McLaren won't be left behind. The promising pace of the Hondas and, of course, the strong first defence, in an early skirmish, of his crown by young champion Fernando Alonso.
But Rosberg's drive was one worth devoting time to. It was only four years ago that Alonso was being ignored by the talent spotters until Flavio Briatore took an interest. New stars are few and far between.
Rosberg may just be one.