( CNN ) -- It 's no wonder the illustrious Silver Arrow has a special place in the Mercedes team 's hearts . The car with the distinctive silver livery has delivered some of its greatest victories -- from successive world championships in the 1950s to the China Grand Prix earlier this month . Now a new generation of Mercedes stars will be paying homage to the racy little number -- and its most famous driver -- ahead of the DTM season opener this weekend . Almost 57 years after F1 legend Juan Manual Fangio won the Italian Grand Prix in the Silver Arrow , driver Nico Rosberg will again be getting behind the wheel of the classic car . Rosberg 's career-first F1 win at this month 's China Grand Prix is Mercedes ' first victory since Fangio in Italy in 1955 . And to mark the occasion , 26-year-old Rosberg will be taking the classic Mercedes W196 for a spin on Saturday before the DTM touring car series season opener at Hockenheim . `` I am absolutely delighted to be returning to Hockenheim as a Grand Prix winner , '' he said on the Mercedes F1 website . `` Last year , I was able to drive a classic Silver Arrow on the famous Nurburgring Nordschleife , so now I 'm really looking forward to climbing into the cockpit of Juan Manuel Fangio 's phenomenal W196 streamliner from Monza in 1955 and driving a few laps at Hockenheim . `` It means a lot to me that we have written a new chapter in the wonderful history of Mercedes in motorsport -- and that there is plenty more still to come . '' The German follows in the footsteps of F1 racing father Keke , who won the world title with Williams in 1982 . However he still has some catching up to do to his famous Finnish father who collected five race wins in a nine-season career from 1978 to 1986 . `` I have great memories of the DTM , '' Rosberg said . `` The earliest date back to when my father was still racing . Then I started competing in the various junior classes that are staged as part of the DTM race weekend as I started out on my own motorsport career . A lot has happened in the meantime , and the highlight so far was obviously my win in China one week ago . '' Rosberg , who failed to repeat his performance in last week 's Bahrain Grand Prix , finishing fifth , will be joined on the track by fellow Mercedes driver Michael Schumacher . The seven-time world champion , who finished 10th in Bahrain , will be behind the wheel of the 2011 Silver Arrow MGP W02 on Sunday . `` After a busy start to the Formula One season with four flyaway races in succession , it will be nice to come back to Germany , '' said Schumacher , whose younger brother Ralf -- a former F1 competitor -- drives in the DTM series . `` I 'm especially looking forward to the chance to give the fans a taste of a Formula One Silver Arrow in action . This will be my first visit to a DTM race in 20 years , and I hope that my brother and his fellow Mercedes-Benz drivers will get their season off to a great start . ''
The Silver Arrow has an important place in Mercedes history . F1 legend The Silver Arrow won the 2011 Italian Grand Prix in the classic W196 . 2011 , China Grand Prix winner Rosberg drives car ahead at Hockenheim . Seven -time world champ Michael Schumacher will drive 57 years later Silver Juan Manual Fangio MGP W02 .