Nico Rosberg's first recollection of Formula One came in Monaco when, asleep on a yacht in the harbour, he was awoken by the sound of Ayrton Senna's McLaren screaming through the tunnel.
Fast forward to 2014 and the son of 1982 champion Keke arrives for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with a very real shot at his own world title.
He won't care a jot but should he prevail over Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton on Sunday he will inevitably go down in F1 history as the lucky 'double points' champion.
In any normal season, Hamilton, who holds a 17-point lead, would only need to take sixth to guarantee his second title, even if Rosberg won the season-closer.
But with controversial double points going to the winner this year, victory in the Gulf desert for Rosberg would see him claim the drivers' crown if Hamilton slips up and finishes no better than third.
Win or lose, no one can deny Rosberg hasn't played his part in a season which pushed his boyhood friendship with Hamilton almost to breaking point.
With his ice-cool exterior, Rosberg is the antithesis of the far more demonstrative Hamilton.
He has needed all his reserves of sang-froid to deal with a season dripping with drama, most of it served up by the Mercedes men.
A simmering on-track feud threatened to boil over in Monaco, and duly did after incidents in Hungary and Spa, when he came under attack for hitting his teammate's car.
