After winning the Formula 1 world championship on Sunday, Nico Rosberg made a shocking announcement with the news that he is retiring from the sport with immediate effect.
The Mercedes driver beat his team-mate and old racing rival Lewis Hamilton to the title, sealing the crown in a tense season finale in Abu Dhabi last weekend.
Speaking ahead of the sport’s governing body prize giving gala in Vienna, Rosberg announced his retirement via social media.
“Since 25 years in racing, it has been my dream, my ‘one thing’ to become Formula One World Champion. Through the hard work, the pain, the sacrifices, this has been my target.And now I’ve made it. I have climbed my mountain, I am on the peak, so this feels right. My strongest emotion right now is deep gratitude to everybody who supported me to make that dream happen.
“This season, I tell you, it was so damn tough. I pushed like crazy in every area after the disappointments of the last two years; they fuelled my motivation to levels I had never experienced before. And of course that had an impact on the ones I love, too – it was a whole family effort of sacrifice, putting everything behind our target. I cannot find enough words to thank my wife Vivian; she has been incredible. She understood that this year was the big one, our opportunity to do it, and created the space for me to get full recovery between every race, looking after our daughter each night, taking over when things got tough and putting our championship first.
“When I won the race in Suzuka, from the moment when the destiny of the title was in my own hands, the big pressure started and I began to think about ending my racing career if I became World Champion. On Sunday morning in Abu Dhabi, I knew that it could be my last race and that feeling cleared my head before the start. I wanted to enjoy every part of the experience, knowing it might be the last time… and then the lights went out and I had the most intense 55 laps of my life. I took my decision on Monday evening. After reflecting for a day, the first people I told were Vivian and Georg (Nolte, from Nico’s management team), followed by Toto.
“The only thing that makes this decision in any way difficult for me is because I am putting my racing family into a tough situation. But Toto understood. He knew straight away that I was completely convinced and that reassured me. My proudest achievement in racing will always be to have won the world championship with this incredible team of people,the Silver Arrows.
“Now, I’m just here to enjoy the moment. There is time tosavour the next weeks, to reflect on the season and to enjoy every experience that comes my way. After that, I will turn the next corner in my life and see what it has in store for me…”
Rosberg began his Formula 1 career with Williams in 2006 before moving to Mercedes for the 2010 season. He won his first Grand Prix with the Silver Arrows in the 2012 Chinese Grand Prix and went on to take a total of 23 victories from 206 starts, twice finishing championship runner-up to team-mate Lewis Hamilton before taking his maiden drivers’ title this year.
Nico goes out on a high thanks to his championship success and it will be fascinating to see what Mercedes will do in terms of placement. Pascal Wehrlein seems the likely candidate following a strong season with Manor and Mercedes rate him strongly thanks to his title win in the DTM in 2015.
So farewell Nico Rosberg. Thanks for the racing memories. Earn that well deserved rest with your family and best wishes in the future.
News stories on the Nico Rosberg:
http://www.formula1.com/en/latest/headlines/2016/12/rosberg-announces-his-retirement-from-f1-racing.html
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/127368/rosberg-announces-shock-formula-1-retirement
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/38185846
http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2016/12/02/rosberg-stuns-f1-announcing-retirement/
http://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12433/10680270/nico-rosberg-retires-martin-brundle-and-ted-kravitz-in-shock-after-world-champions-f1-exit
http://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/newly-crowned-champion-rosberg-retires-from-formula-1-856112/
Lewis Hamilton claims Nico Rosberg’s decision to retire from Formula 1 after winning the championship did not come as a surprise to him.
Rosberg announced just five days after clinching his first F1 title that he would not be racing in 2017, having decided to focus on his family instead.
Hamilton and Rosberg have been competing against each other since they were kids and raced in go-karting.
The Briton says that, with Rosberg having beaten him for the first time in 18 years, he was not surprised by the decision.
“The sport will miss him but I wish him all the best. I am sure it is a surprise to many people. I am probably the only person who thought it was not a surprise because I’ve known him a long time, but this is motor racing,” Hamilton said.
“This is the first time he has won in 18 years, hence why it was not a surprise that he decided to stop.
“He’s got a family to focus on, and wants more children, and F1 takes so much time. Will I miss the rivalry? Of course.
“We had always talked about being champions and when I joined this team and Nico was there, which is also something we talked about when we were kids.
“It is definitely something very strange and it’ll be sad to not have him in the team next year.”
Source: Motorsport.com
Mercedes have expressed their gratitude to their newly-crowned world champion Nico Rosberg after he announced his decision to retire from Formula One racing on Friday.
Rosberg joined the German marque from Williams ahead of the 2010 season, partnering first compatriot Michael Schumacher and then Lewis Hamilton, whom he beat to this year’s drivers’ crown after twice finishing runner-up to his long-term friend and rival.
“This is a brave decision by Nico and testament to the strength of his character,” said Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport.
“He has chosen to leave at the pinnacle of his career, as world champion, having achieved his childhood dream. The clarity of his judgement meant I accepted his decision straight away when he told me.”
Rosberg scored 23 wins, 30 pole positions and 18 fastest laps for the Silver Arrows, and over the last three years his and Lewis Hamilton’s has been the most successful three-season partnership in F1 history.
“It’s impossible to capture the essence of a person in a few short words, but Nico has a special combination of natural talent and fighting spirit that have brought him to where he is today,” added Wolff.
“Throughout his career, people have thought he was on a golden path to success just because his father was a world champion; in fact, I think in some ways that made the challenge greater – and meant he had to fight even harder with the weight of expectation on his shoulders.
“With Mercedes, Nico has been a relentless competitor, bouncing back from tough times in an inspirational way, and he earned the respect of the sport with his tenacity, his fighting spirit and his grace under pressure.
“Since 2010, he has poured competitive energy into our team and we have grown stronger because of it. We simply say ‘thank you’ for the incredible contribution he has made to our success, alongside two of the all-time great drivers, Michael and Lewis.”
Wolff admitted that Rosberg’s decision had taken Mercedes somewhat by surprise, adding that they would not be rushing into confirming a replacement for their 2017 campaign.
“For the team, this is an unexpected situation but also an exciting one. We are going into a new era of technical regulations and there is a free Mercedes cockpit for the seasons ahead. We will take the necessary time to evaluate our options and then find the right path for our future.”
Source: Formula1.com
Retiring Formula 1 world champion Nico Rosberg says his shock decision to stop racing immediately is a result of him not being prepared to commit to another championship battle.
An emotional Rosberg announced the end of his F1 career on Friday ahead of the FIA Prize Giving in Vienna, but he said he started thinking about the possibility of retiring after the Japanese Grand Prix.
“This year was extremely tough because I put absolutely everything into it, I didn’t leave a stone unturned from Austin last year really where I suffered a lot after that loss,” he said, in reference to when Lewis Hamilton was crowned 2015 champion at the US GP.
“So I pushed like crazy in all directions and along with everybody who was involved, which was also my family, a lot of sacrifices.
“My wife, for example, every time I was home she understood that I needed to rest so I never did any nights, I never took care of my little daughter, I never did any difficult things.
“She was always there to support to make it as easy as possible and that’s just one example of the commitment we all put into it.
“I’ve achieved this childhood dream and I’m not willing to do that sort of commitment again for another year and I’m not interested in coming fourth or whatever.
“I’m a fighter and I want to win. I’m not interested to do that again, I don’t want to do it again.
“So I’ve decided to follow my heart and my heart has told me to stop there and call it a day and go onto other things.”
Rosberg said he felt bad for the situation it leaves his Mercedes team in, but that boss Toto Wolff had understood his decision.
“Now I’ve made it. I have climbed my mountain, I am on the peak, so this feels right,” he said.
“The only thing that makes this decision in any way difficult for me is because I am putting my racing family into a tough situation.
“But Toto understood. He knew straight away that I was completely convinced and that reassured me.
“My proudest achievement in racing will always be to have won the world championship with this incredible team of people, the Silver Arrows.”
With thoughts of retiring in his mind from the moment his Japanese GP win put the destiny of the world championship in his hands, Rosberg said he finally decided to stop the day after he won the title.
“When I won the race in Suzuka, from the moment when the destiny of the title was in my own hands, the big pressure started and I began to think about ending my racing career if I became world champion.
“On Sunday morning in Abu Dhabi, I knew that it could be my last race and that feeling cleared my head before the start.
“I wanted to enjoy every part of the experience, knowing it might be the last time… and then the lights went out and I had the most intense 55 laps of my life.
“I took my decision on Monday evening. After reflecting for a day, the first people I told were my wife and Georg [Nolte, from his management team], followed by Toto.
“Now, I’m just here to enjoy the moment. There is time to savour the next weeks, to reflect on the season and to enjoy every experience that comes my way.
“After that, I will turn the next corner in my life and see what it has in store for me.”
Source: Autosport.com
Retiring Nico Rosberg didn’t know if he “had the balls” to quit Formula 1. And yet, the Mercedes driver did with this shocking announcement. Autosport.com has the story.
Retiring world champion Nico Rosberg admits he wasn’t sure he “had the balls” to follow-through with his decision to quit Formula 1.
The German first considered stopping at the end of 2016 following his Japanese Grand Prix victory, which was when the destiny of the title fight was in his hands, no matter what rival Lewis Hamilton could produce over the final four races.
Rosberg knew ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday that it was likely to be his final race, and he admits he had to think very hard about making sure it was the right decision following the title decider.
“The thing that gave me most clarity before Sunday’s race was the thought of ‘I’m actually going to win here today, this is going to be my last race so let’s take it all in’,” Rosberg said at the FIA Prize Giving where he announced his retirement on Friday.
“It took away some of that massive pressure, so that was very nice.
“That finished as soon as the lights went off because after that it was the most intense and crazy and tough race of my life.
“Then it was just a process on Monday, I didn’t know if I had the balls so it took a bit of time.
“But I’m going through with it and I’m feeling great.”
Rosberg added that he made sure Hamilton learned of his decision first-hand by telling his rival the news himself.
“I informed Lewis myself because it’s the right way to do it,” he said.
“We’ve had such a battle and so many moments fighting each other so I thought it was correct to let him know of my decision.
“I had to do it a bit quick, so I sent Lewis a message. Maybe we’ll have a discussion about it tonight.
“It has been so short notice because the priority was to let the team know as quickly as possible so that was a bit of a compromise for me, that I wasn’t able to do a perfect job in taking enough time to notify everybody that was close to me.”
When asked if he could be tempted to return to F1 in the future, Rosberg was adamant that he would not consider a comeback.
“Definitely not,” he said. “Finished. Done. End of story.”